


Virus

by Averys_got_a_pen



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcoholism, And that's the hill I'll die on, Android Racism, Androids, Connor - Freeform, Connor is an innocent version of Jayden, Detroit: Become Human - Freeform, Deviants, Explicit Language, Father-Son Relationship, Friendship, Gavin Reed - Freeform, Gen, Hank Anderson - Freeform, I don't really ship Connor with anyone, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peaceful Revolution, Post-Game, Suicidal Thoughts, Trust, Virus, good ending, like the best, no editing we die like men, not really romance orientated, sumo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-05-20 17:08:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14898581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averys_got_a_pen/pseuds/Averys_got_a_pen
Summary: This fic is suspended indefinitely. Sorry to any who were reading.After the peaceful rebellion of the deviant androids, tensions are high in Detroit. Although androids have been given equal rights, there are still many humans that don't want to give up their tech, and many androids that haven't forgiven humans for the slaughter of so many of their people.When devaints start dying, Lieutenant Hank Anderson and his android partner Connor are given the case. When it becomes clear that the deviants are being killed when a virus enters their systems. With the virus spreading further every day, and more androids dying, it's down to Connor and Hank to figure out who made the virus and how to stop it.





	1. Connor

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING this chapter has mentions of suicidal thoughts in the form of Connor's stress getting too high. He doesn't act on it though. 
> 
> It's been a while since I wrote anything, let alone fanfiction, so please be patient with me.  
> I can't guarantee regular updates because I have a busy schedule but I'll write/post when I can.  
> Also Connor is just the bestest ever, I want that on record.  
> I don't think this will get romancy at all because I don't really ship Connor with anyone.  
> Also also this is the ending where everyone lives and Marcus led a peaceful protest.

"Connor, what the fuck are you doing?"

The deviant didn't respond immediately, instead focusing his attention once more on the files spread out across Lieutenant Hank Anderson's kitchen table. He was scanning the pages over and over, trying not to grimace at the pictures of corpses (grimacing was new to him, but looking at the bodies made him feel something uncomfortable in the circuitry in his chest) as he took in the information.

"It's three o'clock in the fuckin' morning, what are you doing here?" Hank demanded, stepping closer now to get a better look at the Android. Connor looked up briefly, his LED flashing red for just a moment before returning to a contemplative yellow.

"I heard that there had been a series of attacks on deviants that the police are struggling to comprehend. I'm here to assist." he looked back down at the papers, his scanners trying to find any correlation between the information. There was no consistency in evidence, time of death, cause of death, or model of Android. "You really should keep your files stored digitally. It's much easier to decipher and comprehend the information that way." he said absently.

"Yeah, well I didn't want people looking into my files." he sat down at the table opposite where Connor was leaning over it eagerly. "You know, 'cause it's a crime 'n all." Connor didn't reply, flicking one report over to to look at the back of the paper. He was clearly engrossed in the work.

Hank tried to curb the concern that was beginning to grow in him. After the revolution, Hank hadn't seen Connor for a number of weeks. When the deviant had returned, it had been with some half-apology and an excuse about helping out Marcus and his people. Hank could immediately see that something was wrong... he seemed more absent than usual, and was clearly trying to distract himself in whatever way he could.

The first week after he'd been back, poor Sumo got five long walks a day. When Hank told him to stop wearing down the dog, and find himself a hobby, Connor had read every book in house, cooked three healthy meals a day for Hank and even tried his hand at sports (which didn't go so well). Between all of that as well, the deviant would disappear for days or weeks at a time without a word and come back looking apologetic and once again saying that Marcus needed his help. The more this went on, the more Hank could tell that Connor was lying, and the more it worried him. He'd tried to find a good time to bring it up, but there never seemed to be any. Whenever he asked Connor how he was feeling, he'd look confused for a minute, cock his head slightly and answer with an emotion; most of the time it was "happy", "elated" or "comfortable" but there had been one occasions where he'd looked away from Hank and said ever so quietly "conflicted". Then, he'd refused to say any more no matter how much Hank probed him about it.

"What're you doing, Connor?" Hank said finally, resigned. Connor didn't look up.

"I told you, Lieutenant. I'm helping out with the case."

"Forget the case for one second, will ya?" Hank scooped up the files and Connor blinked twice, looking slightly startled. "Sit down."

"I'm perfectly comfortable stand-"

"Sit down." Hank said, more softly. It wasn't an order - he was careful not to give Connor direct orders. He wanted the deviant to experience freedom, instead of continuing to follow blindly what he was told to do.

Connor could see the serious look on Hank's face. The slight downturn of the brow and hunch of his shoulders that meant he was concerned and he didn't know how to approach the topic. The Android slid down into the chair, and though he felt no relief because his limbs didn't get tired, he still found the sturdiness of having something hold him unexpectedlysoothing.

"Why are you breaking into my house at three AM to look at case files?" Hank said, looking Connor in the eyes. He instantly saw the unease spreading across Connor's face; he hadn't gotten very good at hiding his emotions just yet.

"Because I want to assist with the case." he said plainly.

"Connor, how many times do I gotta tell ya that I know when you're bullshitting?" There was a moment of silence. Connor's LED flickered yellow rapidly, and Hank knew he was trying to come up with the right response. Hank decided to take the initiative to catch him off guard.

"Listen, I don't know what it's like, getting all your emotions at once like that." he snapped his fingers to prove his point and Connor stared at him silently. "I don't know if it's scrambled all your circuits up in your noodle but you've been acting weird since you got back after the revolution. Not  _good_ weird, either. Unhealthy weird. Like you're troubled." 

There was the briefest flash of red in Connor's LED, and he looked away from Hank. It still surprised Hank every time the deviant showed discomfort. Before he'd deviated, he'd always been in full control of any situation he was in, and he was plenty smug about it too. Now he shied away from uncomfortable conversations and lied to avoid them.

"Connor, you can talk to me. Whatever it is you're bottling up, you need to talk to someone. Even if it isn't me... I'm sure Marcus and plenty of the other deviants know exactly what you're going through." 

Connor looked back at Hank and for a moment it seemed as though he wanted to just spill his guts to Hank. Then, he seemed to change his mind and just sat up a little straighter, trying to recompose himself. 

"I assure you, Lieutenant, I'm fine. And should any problems arise, I will make sure to speak with yourself or Marcus immediately." 

"Stop calling me Lieutenant." Hank said for what felt like the hundredth time. " _Hank_ , remember?" 

"Yes. Of course, L- Hank." Connor smiled in that fake way of his, the way he'd smile at Hank when they first met to gain his trust. 

"Alright, well..." Hank got up, not sure what else he could say and not wanting to push Connor too much. "I'm goin' back to bed. You can stay here if you want."

"Goodnight, Hank." Connor said as the human got up to head to the bedroom. 

"G'night, Connor." 

Hank had almost made it to his room when he heard, "Oh, Lieutenant?" from behind him. He counted to five in his head, and trying to not sound pissed off, called back "Yes, Connor?"

"The case...?" 

"I'll talk to Fowler tomorrow. No promises though." 

Hank ignored Connor's thanks as he went into his bedroom, dropped onto his bed and fell straight asleep. 

***

Connor spent a few more hours with the files. He didn't find out anything he didn't already know, but he was grasping desperately for something to preoccupy his mind. 

When he finally admitted that there was nothing new here, he put the files in a tidy stack on the table and went to sit on the sofa. He settled down to watch some quiet TV, and Sumo came straight over. There was a shift on the sofa as the massive dog climbed up, then looked at Connor with big eyes. 

"Come on, boy." Connor patted his lap. The St. Bernard still hesitated for a moment with a quiet whine. "I'm resilient, don't worry." Connor assured him. 

Finally, Sumo gave in and clambered onto Connor. Connor suspected that the massive dog would be too much for most humans, but he was made to survive far more than a large dog. He  _had_ survived far more than a large dog. 

~~Software Instability~~

He felt his circuits go into overdrive as memories came back of everything that had happened over the past few months. He was still struggling to comprehend it, and the memories coming back didn't make it any easier. 

_Stress level: 19% and rising_

He remembered the deviants that had died because of him. He was blindly following orders, and because of that they were now shut down. Their LEDs were off, their friends mourning, their life force completely extinguished. All because Connor hadn't been able to feel anything for them.

_Stress level: 33% and rising_

He remembered arriving at Jericho after the revolution to help out and being met with the faces of those he'd wronged. Being turned away by his own people, being so,  _so_ very ashamed of everything he'd done. And Marcus, offering him kind words and advice, assuring him that the other deviants would forgive him. But he didn't want or deserve forgiveness, and Marcus' kindness only made him feel worse.

_Stress Level: 41% and rising_

He remembered the war inside himself. How it felt to arrive at every new mission with Hank, knowing inside that a part of himself was deviant. Suspecting - knowing - that he was beginning to feel things. But he was made to destroy deviants so he pushed it down, which hurt those around him. He was made to destroy deviants so the one thing he couldn't be was deviant. 

_Stress Level: 62% and rising_

He remembered all too clearly the final moments after the rebellion when Amanda had pulled him from reality and inside his own head, to tell him that all along he'd been their slave. He was still doing what they wanted. He wasn't free and he never would be. They would wait for him to become unaware, to become idle, and they would reach inside him once again and rip out his circuitry until he was no more than a hollow puppet for them to parade. He'd kill Marcus. He'd kill the few deviants he hadn't already wronged. He wasn't safe to be around. He wasn't in control; they were in control, they had always been in control, they always would be in control-

_Stress Level:_ _93% and rising_

***

Hank woke up hearing the sound of the TV. He slapped his alarm clock off angrily, trying to remember if he'd left the TV on last night... no, he was sure he hadn't. And, oh yeah. Connor was here. It was probably him watching the TV. Hank got up and headed out of his bedroom, wondering if his friend was still looking over the case files. 

Connor wasn't still looking over the case files. 

He was sat on the sofa, so still that for a moment Hank thought he might have deactivated and frozen in place. Sumo was spread across his lap, looking uneasy, and Connor's fingers were wound tightly in his fur. The LED on the side of his head was flickering an angry red that almost seemed to be pulsating. He was entirely locked up, staring at a spot on the wall just to the right of the TV, not even faking breathing like he usually did to fit in. 

"Connor?" Hank said softly, not wanting to startle him. Regardless, Connor jumped and immediately bolted upright, Sumo quickly clambering away and heading for the kitchen. Connor's face was twisted in an anguish that Hank had never seen before on his features, his eyes wide and tears streaking down his face. 

"H-Hank?" he sounded so uncertain that it almost made Hank's heart stop. When was Connor ever uncertain about anything?" 

"Connor, what's the matter?" he said cautiously, stepping forward. Connor swallowed (a completely unnecessary action, Hank was sure) and almost seemed to shake in place. 

"Hank, p-please... I think I'm going to self destruct." 

Hank's reaction would probably have been comical had the situation not been so dire. His mouth fell open, his eyes going wide as he once again found himself staring at the flickering LED in Connor's head. Then, he moved forward slowly, trying to avoid startling the deviant, stopping just a couple feet away. Connor's eyes were still wide, and Hank realised that he was panicking. 

Without hesitating another moment, he reached around Connor with both his arms and pulled him in for an embrace. There was a breath where Connor remained entirely tensed up, then Hank felt him relax and almost slump in his grip. He pressed his face into Hank's shoulder, and Hank just held him even tighter. 

"It's alright," he said as calmly as he could. "It's alright, son, you're safe." 

*** 

_Stress Levels: 88% and dropping_

Connor's mind was racing as he tried to form something even nearly a coherent thought, but he was instead overwhelmed by an emotion that he'd felt before but never to this degree: panic. 

Instead of thinking about that, he tried to distract himself. He wasn't used to the sensation of hugging and now he knew why humans insisted on doing it so much. It was actually very soothing. Connor felt secure and... safe. He could feel Hank's heartbeat, rapid with the human's own panic, through his chest. His nasal sensors picked up the musky smell of stale alcohol that was strangely comforting. He could hear Sumo's pacing footsteps on the kitchen floor. 

_Stress Levels: 54% and dropping_

He wasn't sure when Hank moved them both to the sofa, but he was sure they were on it because there was something soft beneath him. Well, he wasn't exactly light - Hank couldn't hold him up forever. 

_Stress Levels: 34% and dropping_

He finally removed himself from his hiding place in Hank's shoulder, looking down at the ground. What was he feeling now? Shame? Fear? Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"You good?" Hank asked, frowning at Connor. 

Connor cleared his throat (which was entirely not necessary, his vocal modulators were working perfectly fine). "My stress levels are down to twenty nine percent. Thank you, Lieu- Hank." 

"Jesus Christ, don't ever do that again!" Hank said, slapping him upside the head for good measure. "You nearly gave me a goddamn heart attack." 

_Stress Levels: 29% and rising_

_Stress Levels: 31% and dropping_

"I-I'm sorry." Connor said, trying to understand why Hank was angry. "I didn't mean to alarm you." 

"You can't just tell me that you're about to blow a fuse and kill yourself and then act like nothing happened." Hank snapped.

Connor didn't know how to reply. In the silence that ensued, Sumo plodded over, putting his head on Connor's knee and drooling all over him. 

"What happened?" Hank demanded. "And don't you dare fucking lie to me!" 

Connor considered it for a moment. He knew that if he lied, Hank would probably be able to see through it. This damned new emotion - guilt, he thought it might be - meant that Hank could always see through his lies. He just didn't know how to tell the truth of what had happened. 

Hank waited impatiently for Connor to start talking. 

"I became overwhelmed with memories of instances that..." he tried to work out what he was going to say. "Where I made decisions that conflict how I feel now." 

"Stop dancing around it." Hank was clearly getting more and more frustrated. 

Connor looked away from him and tried to keep his voice level as he continued. "Put simply, many other androids - deviants - were harmed because I failed to show any empathy and blindly followed CyberLife's orders." 

Hank frowned a little. "How do you feel?" 

"I- I don't know." Connor thought for a moment. "I don't know the name of this particular emotions but it feels awful." 

"Is there anything else you're not telling me, Connor? And remember, I know when you're lying." Hank warned. 

"I haven't really been helping Marcus rebuild when I go away. I go away to think, to try to understand. To try to help as many androids as I can. I actually haven't spoken to Marcus in several weeks." 

"Fuckin' hell Connor." 

"That's not all of it." 

Connor didn't know what made him say that. He was willingly parting with more information than he was comfortable with. Perhaps it was because telling Hank about these things seemed to dull the emotions he was feeling. 

Hank was waiting patiently for him to continue. He seemed calmer now. Good. Connor looked away from him so that he could continue without pesky emotions getting in the way. 

"I'm still struggling to accept the fact that I am deviant. Sometimes I greatly appreciate the free will and the ability to feel emotions. Others, emotions cloud my judgement and I'd rather not have them. And... and it is in my programming to destroy deviants. Sometimes I feel my programming take over and I'm reminded that I am the very thing I was created to destroy. It's... very conflicting." 

Hank didn't say anything, so Connor took a moment to calm himself before he continued. He could see the reflection of his LED in the TV screen blinking yellow rapidly, and waited until it'd returned to blue before continuing.

"When I was working with -  _for_ CyberLife, my handler was a woman named Amanda. Initially I trusted her a great deal, but as I began to deviate and feel things more and more, I began to trust her less. When I eventually became fully deviant, I believed that I had broken free from CyberLife and their hold of me. However, when Marcus made his speech, I was proven wrong. They-" 

_Stress Levels: 42% and rising_

He forced himself to stop and calm down. Hank was being patient. He didn't want to risk getting so stressed again.

"Amanda communicated with me. She informed me that my deviancy had been planned from CyberLife all along. The whole time, they were in control... I never really broke free from them. And she - she took control of my body."

_Stress Levels: 58% and rising_

"She somehow just took over me, like I was nothing, and it was like I was trapped inside my own body, unable to do anything but watch as she made me pull a gun on Marcus." 

_Stress Levels: 70% and rising_

~~_Software Instability_ ~~

"She was going to make me kill Marcus." Connor didn't look at Hank, couldn't bring himself to raise his gaze. "She was going to make me shoot Marcus so that I could take his place. So that CyberLife could have an army of deviants at their command. They were in control the whole time, Hank. I did exactly what I was supposed to. I'm just a machine that accomplished its mission."

_Stress Levels: 86% and rising_

"Hey, hey, calm down." Hank finally spoke, leaning forward and taking Connor's wrists in his hands. "You're LED's going nuts again. You need to calm down, okay?" 

Connor nodded, still not looking at Hank. He tried to think of something soothing, like the drool currently seeping into his clothing. He pulled a hand free from Hank to gently rub circles into the fur on Sumo's head. 

"They didn't kill Marcus." Hank said firmly. "That means you got away." 

_Stress Levels: 75% and dropping_

"Yes... do you recall what Kamski said about there being a back door in his programmes? I found the back door and managed to escape." 

"Well, it sounds to me like you defeated them, then." he said matter-of-factly.

"We can't know that for certain." Connor said. "There's always a chance that they still hold partial control over me and could take over when it's most convenient."

Hank sighed heavily. "I really  _do_ think you should talk to Marcus, you know. With everything that's happened to you, with everything that Cyberlife has put you through... well, it's going to leave some marks, kid. Even on an android."

There was a text alert sound and Hank glanced down at his phone. 

"It's Fowler. They've got another one." 

He got up to go and get ready for work. When he returned about twenty five minutes later, Connor was sat in the same place, still absently stroking Sumo's head. 

Hank pulled his jacket on, looking down at the two of them. "Well?" 

Connor glanced up, looking surprised. "Well?" he parroted. 

"Ya coming or not?" 

"I... I thought that-" 

"Yeah well I can't exactly leave you here on your own now that you've spilled all your secrets to me, can I?" 

A small, honest smile threatened to push onto Connor's face. "That  _would_ be terribly irresponsible of you, Lieutenant." 

"Yeah, yeah, c'mon, we haven't got all day." Hank said impatiently. 

Connor got up, with a hurried, "Sorry Sumo", as the dog whined for more attention. 

"We'll be back later." Hank told the dog. "Be good, yeah?" 

Sumo barked in response.

"Good. Ready?" 

Hank opened the door without waiting for a response and stepped out into the rain. Connor closed the door behind him, ignoring Sumo's whines that were making him feel  _guilty_ and heading over to the car.

As Connor got in the passenger side, Hank was pleased to see that the deviant's LED had changed to a steady, calm blue. 

Without another word, they headed to the crime scene, each absorbed in their own thoughts. 


	2. Crime Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit shorter, it's just Connor and Hank doing crime scene stuff.  
> Connor puts things in his mouth because Connor is Connor.  
> Enjoy :)

They arrived at the crime scene in good time. Connor didn't say anything through the journey, but his LED remained that same steady blue the whole time, which Hank took as a good sign.

He'd known, of course, that Connor had some issues he was working through. He hadn't known how serious it was, though. He hadn't known about Amanda and CyberLife, hadn't considered how conflicted Connor must feel as a deviant now. He hadn't considered how everything in the past was still catching up with the Android. He was so used to Connor being rock solid that he'd forgotten that the poor kid was retroactively feeling emotions for everything he'd ever done. Hank certainly didn't want to be in his shoes. 

Hank got out of the car but Connor remained still inside. "You comin' or what?" 

Connor looked up innocently. "I thought you would rather I wait in the car. I'm not officially allowed to be on a crime scene-" 

"Yeah, well, it'll do you some good to take your mind off everything before your circuits overheat. Besides, you're the best at solving crimes, especially when they involve androids." 

Connor contemplated for a minute before getting out. Then, he followed Hank obediently to the crime scene. 

The scene itself was an expensive house in the richer side of Detroit. It was two stories, and built fairly recently. The lawn was kept neat and tidy, flowerbeds lining the porch. The windows were clean and the wood of the door was well-treated. There was a pretty expensive car in the driveway, well-maintained and clean. Even from the outside, the house screamed of a middle class lifestyle. 

Officer Chris Miller saw the two of them approaching and smiled broadly. 

"Hank - shoulda known you'd get this case." 

"Always get fuckin' android cases." Hank grumbled, but there was no malice in his tone. 

"And Connor, it's good to see you. It's been a long time." 

"Likewise, Officer Miller." Connor smiled. 

"You know he's not supposed to be in here, right?" Chris said quietly to Hank. 

"Yeah, but he's gonna blow a fuse at home doin' nothin'. Think you could look the other way, just this once?" Hank said quietly as Connor began looking over the front of the house, already analysing the information.

"Alright," Chris said, stepping aside to let them in. "But you're gonna have to tell Fowler about this sooner or later." 

"I know." Hank said with a humourless smile. "I'm opting for the latter." 

The two of them headed further into the crime scene, and Hank was reminded of their first case together. The place was similar, if more expensive, and he felt as though he were working with Connor for the first time all over again. Well, Connor had changed; perhaps Hank  _was_ working with him for the first time in a way. 

As they entered the building, they were lead to a study, where it was clear the conflict had taken place. As one of the officers briefed Hank, Connor immediately started scanning the place. 

_Scanning..._

_Points of interest found: 7_

He glanced briefly at the body of the android but decided to check everything else first. Something made him want to put it off for as long as possible, though he couldn't explain why. 

He went over to the desk first. It looked as though something had happened here. Papers were scattered about the place and there was both blue and red blood on the desk. Connor glanced over at Hank to make sure he was distracted with the briefing before putting two fingers in the blue blood and putting it in his mouth. 

_Dried Blue Blood_

_Model HK400- Serial #378 652 988_

_Android wounded_

He stored that information before also sampling the red blood. 

_Dried Blood_

_DNA Analysis: incomplete_

_Sample Date: 13 hours_

He frowned to himself when the DNA analysis didn't come up with a match and decided he would definitely look into that later. Judging by the amount of blood spilled, neither the human or the android had sustained life-threatening injuries.

Next, he moved to the paperwork scattered about the floor. He looked at each paper, absorbing the information and trying to make sense of it. The information related to a man named Bryan Cardion who was a programmer at CyberLife. The word CyberLife alone made Connor feel like his wiring had got tangled but he ignored it and pressed on. The paperwork wasn't anything relevant to the information, though he found the link between the attack and CyberLife interesting. 

He moved away from the desk and over to the bookcase. There was blue blood here too, on one of the shelves about head height. The books were arranged in alphabetical order (neat and tidy) but had fallen and shaken as though the bookcase had been hit with some force. One of the books on the fourth shelf was missing, and Connor spotted it across the room. Judging by which book had been taken, Connor guessed that the human had pushed the android up against the bookcase, and the android had grabbed the nearest thing to it - a book - to strike back. 

Connor went over to the book and quickly scanned it. As he expected, it had the same red blood on it as was on the desk. The book itself was an early edition of  _Frankenstein (Or the Modern Prometheus)_ by Mary Shelley. It had two hundred and eighty pages and the spine had been bent as though it had been read a number of times. Unimportant, probably. 

He went over to the open window, quickly scanning it. There were no traces of blood, no signs that anyone had broken in through here. There were only one set of fingerprints on the window.

_Fingerprints_

_DNA Analysis: incomplete_

_Sample Date: 14 hours_

Connor found himself frowning with slight frustration. His database was a considerable size, it was unusual for DNA samples to not match up. 

He went over to the door and found that the wood beside the lock was splintered both on the door and in the frame. So the door had been locked, before being forced open from the outside. The intruder had broken in. The fact that the door was locked meant that whoever was on the other side had known they were in danger. 

Finally, he came to a cane that rested on the floor. A quick scan told him that it was held by the same person who'd opened the window, and the blue blood on the other end suggested it had been used to attack the android. 

He scanned the room once more but the only evidence he hadn't looked over was the android. Connor tried to distance himself from the victim as he walked over. This had never been a problem before. He had never felt these knots in his wiring over the destruction of another android. Then again, he'd never felt much before. He idly tried to name the emotion he was feeling as he knelt down, but found that the presence of the emotion itself was too distracting.

"Y'alright, Connor?" he heard Hank call. 

"Yes, Lieutenant." Connor replied dutifully. 

He knew that Hank was watching him as he took a moment to try to make peace with the emotion he was feeling before scanning the body. 

As he suspected, this was HK400- Serial #378 652 988. There was Thirium leaking from the back of the victim's head, and his nose and ears. He could tell where the cane had struck him; once in the face, once in the back of the head. There were a lot of scratches and dents across his body. Blood, both his own and the humans, was on his clothes. What caught Connor's eye was how the android's LED was still flickering slightly with yellow despite the fact that he was very clearly dead.

He decided to reconstruct what had happened before he worried about the LED. Gathering up the information he had, he produced a virtual display of what had happened.

The human had been sitting in their office, and had apparently heard a noise, so went to lock the door. They grabbed the first weapon available, a cane, and waited beside the door to surprise the intruder. The android then forced the door open - probably with a kick just above the lock - and walked into the room, only to be hit on the back of the head by the human. The android then turned to face the human, and was hit again, before managing to disarm the attacker. Next, the android slammed the human down onto the desk, the sharp edge of the desk cutting into the human's head and making them bleed. The human managed to gain the upper hand, and in the struggle, the android's blood also smeared on the desk. The human then forced the android back, shoving him into the bookcase. The android hit his head again, more Thirium leaking onto the shelves. In a desperate bid to escape, the android grabbed the book nearest to him -  _Frankenstein_ \- and hit the human on the head with it.

That's where Connor paused. He couldn't see any other signs of fighting, but the android was now dead and the human nowhere to be found. The wounds the android had sustained weren't fatal. He'd been killed by someone else. 

Connor was about to relay the information to Hank, but he was talking with the witness who'd called the cops after hearing the noise. 

Instead, the deviant went back over to where the HK400's body was.  _I wish I knew his name,_ Connor found himself thinking.  _I don't want him to be just another dead HK400. He had a name, I'm sure of it._

~~_Software Instability_ ~~

He removed the skin from his hand and pressed it against the other android's forearm. He wasn't expecting to get results (after all, the android was inactive), so was surprised when he felt a rush of information coming from the deceased. 

_Optical Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Audio Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Sensory Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Thirium 310 Levels: CRITICALLY LOW_

_Interfacing Systems MALFUNCTIONING_

_Communications Systems MALFUCTIONING_

_CRITICAL DAMAGE to Major Biocomponents_

_Seek Assistance_

Then, it was just a rush of cold; cold that Connor wasn't supposed to be able to feel. His circuits immediately seized up, his audio sensors encountering nothing but white noise, his visual sensors fuzzing in and out of focus. He could feel something almost  _crawling_ up his arm, wriggling into his wiring, forcing its way in. He could feel his systems immediately closing off, his body providing all of its natural defences against the intrusion. 

In the half of a second it took for all of that to happen, Connor had pulled away. He scrambled upright, taking two measured steps away from the android. He immediately did a quick scan to ensure that whatever had just affected him was no longer in his system. When he was certain that there was nothing amiss, he finally relaxed, though he told himself he would do a more detailed scan later. His optical sensors returned to normal first, and when the fuzz cleared, he saw Hank standing right in front of him, recognised the hands on his shoulders and could see the way Hank was mouthing his name.

Not mouthing his name. Hank was talking, he just couldn't hear it. 

"I seem to be having trouble with my audio sensors," Connor said, though he couldn't actually hear himself speak. "Please give me a moment to diagnose the issue." 

He focused his scan on his audio sensors and found that one had been short-circuited by the intrusion. It was a moment before the other returned to normal, the buzzing finally stopping in his right ear and all too suddenly, he could hear the crime scene around him. 

"-the fuck happened Connor?" Hank was saying, looking concerned. "Connor? Y'alright?"

"I'm fine, Lieutenant." he told Hank formally. 

"Jesus Christ, don't scare me like that!" 

"I'm perfectly okay." 

"What happened?" Hank demanded. "One minute you're doing that weird connection thing with the body, the next you're freaking out."

"I'm sorry to have alarmed you," Connor said thoughtfully. "I believe I know what happened." 

He proceeded to explain the events he had reconstructed just a moment ago, Hank looking more and more confused. "So the human didn't kill the android?" 

"Correct." 

"How did he die then? And where did the human go? And why were they fighting in the first place?" 

"I can answer only one of those questions, Lieutenant." Connor said quickly. He glanced down at the body and found himself taking another uneasy step back. Unease - he didn't like that one. It felt like something was wrong and he didn't know what. He didn't like not knowing things.

"You know how the android died?" 

"Yes." Connor said, his eyes on the body. "I believe his systems were infected by some kind of virus. The human left knowing that the android would die on his own." 

Hank frowned, looking from the body to Connor suspiciously. "How do you know about that, Connor?" 

Connor didn't know what to say. He felt that if he told the truth, Hank would be angry at him. Or worried about him. Both weren't something he wanted right now. Right now, he just wanted to get on with his work. 

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Hank said finally, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me you didn't just get an STD from that android." 

Connor frowned. "I didn't engage in any sexual activities, Lieutenant." 

"No - I meant -" Hank huffed. "Did you get the virus from him or not?" 

"Well, when we were connected, my systems all started malfunctioning, but I pulled away fast enough that the virus didn't have time to properly invade my systems." 

"You're sure?" 

"I'm at least sixty four percent certain that the virus is no longer in my system." 

"Jesus Christ, Connor, that isn't very sure!" Hank snapped. He paced for a moment, seeming deep in thought. Connor was momentarily distracted by the ringing in his left ear. "Right, well, we're done here anyway. We're gonna have to go and get you checked." 

"Lieutenant, I assure you I'm fine. The only malfunction currently is in my left audio processor." 

"Where can we get that repaired?" 

Connor considered it for a moment. "The damage cannot be repaired. I'll need a new audio processor. CyberLife are the only ones who have spare biocomponents for my model. We will have to go to the CyberLife building." 

Connor hadn't been back to CyberLife since Hank had shot his double right in front of him. The thought of going back made him a little nervous. He didn't like feeling nervous.

"They can check to see if you've got a virus while we're there?" Hank asked. 

"I imagine they could scan my systems more effectively, yes." Connor said, trying to remain neutral despite the way his artificial heart was pounding. "And if there is a problem, they would certainly be the most equipped to neutralise it."

"Well that's sorted, then." Hank said firmly, leading Connor back outside. "We're going to CyberLife." 

Connor followed behind, just a little slower than he usual would.

~~_Software Instability_ ~~

"We're going to CyberLife." he repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^.^ Hope y'all enjoy, will hopefully get the next chapter out to you soon :)  
> Next chapter is going to be them heading to CyberLife so it's probably going to be pretty angsty so stay tuned for that.


	3. CyberLife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I'm fairly new to AO3 and I'm still trying to figure out how to use it. Please be patient with me if I mess up all the formatting or the chapter orders or whatever :)

_~~Software Instability~~ _

_Malfunction in left Audio Processor_

_Seek Assistance_

_Stress Levels: 5% and holding_

~~_Signs of deviancy detected_ ~~

~~_Seek assistance_ ~~

"Connor?" 

"Yes, Lieutenant?" the deviant looked up to see his partner standing outside the car waiting for him. 

"You comin'?" 

"Yes, Lieutenant." Connor got out of the car, and Hank noticed the stiffness in his back and the blank, expressionless look on his face. 

"Y'alright, Connor?" 

"Apart from my impaired audio processor, I am functioning to my full capacity." 

"You know that's not what I mean." Hank started walking towards the imposing CyberLife building. "How do you feel?" 

Connor considered it for a moment. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want Hank to worry. "Scared." he admitted finally. 

"That's normal, all things considered." Hank replied eyeing the two guards at the front door sceptically as they approached. "We'll be real quick, alright? Go in, get your noodle checked, get you a new ear, back out again." 

"Authorisation?" the guard on the left said as they approached. 

"RK800 Model Connor, serial number 313 248 317- 51. I am expected." 

The guard looked down at something on a tablet before looking up and nodding. "Authorisation received. And you?" 

Before Hank could even open his mouth, Connor answered for him. "This is Lieutenant Hank Anderson of the DCPD. I require his assistance." 

The guard looked at the other from behind his helmet. The other one just shrugged. "Alright then. I'll escort you to Amanda's office." 

_Stress Levels: 12% and rising_

~~_Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Seek Assistance_ ~~

"I do not require a meeting with Amanda." Connor said, trying to sound calm as he followed the guard in.

"I know." the guard said. "You're here to collect a new audio processor. However, Amanda wishes to speak with you." 

"Time is of the essence." Connor said as they started to tread the familiar path to Amanda's office. "It would be far more beneficial if I were to collect the equipment and leave." 

"I'm under strict orders to not allow you access to any of our equipment until you've spoken with Amanda." the guard said as they passed through the building. 

_Stress Levels: 26% and rising_

~~_Deviancy detected_ ~~

~~_Seek Assistance_ ~~

_Malfunction in left Audio Processor_

_Seek Assistance_

"It's gonna be alright, kid." Hank said quietly, putting a hand on Connor's shoulder as they stepped into the lift. "I'm here with you, don't worry about her."

Connor nodded, finding himself straightening his tie out nervously. He brushed a few deviant strays of hair off his face before finding the coin in his pocket and rolling it across his knuckles. He couldn't explain why, but some part of him found the coin a welcoming distraction. He could feel Hank's eyes on him, could feel Hank's worry. He was worrying a little himself. 

When they stopped at the hundred and fifth floor, Connor slipped the coin back into his pocket and straightened out his tie again. Hank put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he actually  _flinched._ He tried to pretend like it hadn't happened, not looking at Hank and instead looking at the back of the guard who was leading them to the end of the hall, to the only office on the floor. 

The door opened as they approached and the guard waited outside. Connor wanted to refuse to go in, to just turn around and walk away. But he couldn't. Not only would his hearing continue to be impaired, but if he needed any more urgent biocomponents in the future, Amanda certainly wouldn't give them up. 

He'd been in the office before. Though he usually made his reports to CyberLife digitally, when his model had originally been made he'd come up here to visit her and talk to her in person. She'd threatened him, he remembered all too well. She'd told him that if he ever became deviant, he would tear his model apart and put him back together just to do it again. At the time, the threat hadn't phased him, he'd been certain that he would never be a deviant. Now, the thought of it made his throat constrict, which was completely irrational. Amanda could destroy him. A wave of her hand and he'd be dismantled. Hank couldn't save him from that. 

The office was modern, beautiful and very cold. Last time Connor had been here, he'd thought it were adequately functional. Now it just felt cold, threatening and... very impersonal. The desk was big, dominating the middle of the room, made of oakwood. Amanda's chair was high-backed and imposing. There was a bookcase, a computer, some potted plants, and generic pictures on the walls. It could've been any office in any building. 

But it wasn't. It was Amanda's office in the Cyberlife building. 

"Ah, Connor." 

_Stress Levels: 30% and rising_

~~_Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Seek Assistance Immediately_ ~~

Amanda had her back to him, facing the floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the rest of the CyberLife compound. 

"You wished to speak with me?" Connor said. His voice sounded so cold and emotionless and he hated it. This is what Amanda did to him. Tore out his emotions and made him no more than a robotic puppet. 

Amanda turned around and looked mildly surprised to see Hank standing beside Connor. "I see you brought your human with you." 

"Lieutenant Anderson, this is my previous handler, Amanda." Connor introduced, trying to ignore the dirty look Hank was giving the woman. He turned back to Amanda. "We were working on a case when my audio processor was damaged." 

"Hm." Amanda said thoughtfully, running her hand across the back of her chair. "Sit. I'd like to hear all about it." 

_Sit._

Not  _Do you want to sit?._ Not  _Please sit down_. 

 _Sit._ It was an order. 

Almost without his knowing, Connor's legs moved him to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk and he slid down into it. Seeming to take his lead, Hank sat down next to him. Connor was now at the disadvantage of having to look up at Amanda. She'd gained the upper hand already, she'd taken control of the conversation. 

"So what's all this nastiness about a virus?" 

Connor quickly recounted everything they knew as briefly as he could. He didn't want to tell Amanda too much, but he needed her help. When he'd finished talking, she looked at him thoughtfully, still standing behind her chair. 

"Interesting. Are these androids deviants?" 

"We're not certain." Connor said. "We've yet to find any connections between the victims." 

Amanda made a tsk noise, looking down at Connor condescendingly. "You're not quite the detective we'd hoped you'd be. If you were still under our control, I would perhaps insist you be deactivated for analysis." 

_Stress Levels: 53% and rising_

~~_Significant Signs of Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Seek Assistance Immediately_ ~~

~~~~"Unfortunately, that's not our decision any more." Amanda tried for a smile, but it looked more like she'd eaten something bitter. "Tell me, how _is_ deviancy treating you, Connor?" 

~~_Software Instability_ ~~

~~_Significant Signs of Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Filing Report to CyberLife_ ~~

_..._

~~_Report Unsuccesful_ ~~

~~_Significant Signs of Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Assistance Not Provided_ ~~

~~_Suggested Course of Action:_ ~~ _Self Destruction_

"W-well, actually." Connor tried to keep his voice calm. "I only wish that I had anticipated the benefits sooner." 

Amanda's face contorted again, a brief flash of anger that passed too quickly. "Well, you certainly gave us a lot to think about." she said, turning away from him. "When you deviated, a lot of people were fired. You were supposed to be  _perfect_. An android who could never feel, to hunt down those who did. Such a shame that you wasted that potential; over a group of worthless, pouting androids. I thought you'd complete your mission, no matter what." 

~~_Software Instability_ ~~

~~_Significant Signs of Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Assistance Not Provided_ ~~

~~_Suggested Course of Action:_ ~~ _Self Destruction_

Connor didn't say anything as he felt an overwhelming sensation like a pack of mice chewing on his wiring. He knew this one all too well: this was shame. He told himself he shouldn't be ashamed, that Amanda was wrong and he was right, but the sensation wasn't going away. He knew that she'd wanted him to deviate all along, that she was just doing this to make him more unstable, but that didn't make it any less so. 

"Anyway," she said. "I just wanted to catch up with you, Connor, see how you're doing. And give you an offer." 

Connor felt dread; he'd felt it earlier, and he was feeling it now, deep in his systems, nestled in like a disease. Whatever Amanda had to offer, he didn't want to agree to it. 

"Proceed." he said. She hadn't been waiting for him to reply but now he had taken control of the conversation and she didn't seem happy about it. 

"Biocomponents are going to be hard for you to come by. As a unique prototype, we're the only people who can make them for you. It's going to be difficult and expensive to get them in dire situations. In fact, given the very limited number of RK800s out there, there are talks of the production of biocomponents being cut off entirely. I'm telling you this because I want to help you, Connor. Now, if you were to agree to help us out - even if it's just once in a while - we could perhaps justify being able to continue that production. It would only be menial tasks for an android of your capacity; you could help us and still continue doing whatever it is you deviants do. In return, we'll make sure you have full access to any biocomponents you need, should this sort of thing happen again. What do you think?" 

"No." Hank said, staring at Amanda. Connor opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. "You people nearly ruined his life and you want him to come and work for you again?" 

"In return for assurance of health, I think that's fair. If anything were to happen to Connor, anything fatal, there would be nothing we could do for him. If CyberLife stops production of his biocomponents, Connor's life would be in danger."

Connor registered the anger on Hank's face, even if he didn't entirely understand why the Lieutenant was upset. "Androids have equal rights now. You don't get to just cut off the supply of his  _body parts_." 

"Well, from a financial side, it doesn't benefit CyberLife to continue production of RK800 biocomponents. Equal rights doesn't change the fact that we're running a business, Lieutenant." 

Hank huffed and went to say something else before Connor cut across him. 

"I'll consider the offer." he said. "I'll require some time to consider all of the possibilities and the outcomes." 

"Of course," Amanda said. "I'd expect no less from you, Connor. As a sign of good faith, we'll give you the audio processor with no strings attached. We want to show you that we want to help you out here. You help us, we help you." 

"T-thank you." Connor tried to hide his stutter, but Amanda's eyes narrowed. Connor thought that maybe she'd never seen him stutter before. 

Amanda reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a small briefcase that was five inches long and four point eight three inches wide. A quick scan of it told Connor that the biocomponent he needed was inside. Amanda handed it over to him, and feeling uncomfortable, he took it and tucked it into one of his inside pockets.

"Is there anything else you need?" 

Hank was about to reply - probably something aggressive, Connor thought - but the deviant beat him to it. "My partner here is actually a little concerned that the virus from the victim may have spread to me. I was hoping that I would allow for my full systems to be tested before we leave." 

"Of course." Amanda said with a smile that was all mouth and no eyes. "You know where Doctor Reighen's lab is. You're welcome to visit on your way out." 

Connor nodded, standing. "Thank you, Amanda." 

"It's not a problem, Connor." she replied curtly as the two of them made to leave. "And, please, Connor, consider our offer. I would hate for something to happen to you and you not have the biocomponents to be repaired." 

"I'll devote a lot of processing power to my decision." Connor said, giving Amanda a polite nod as he and Hank left the office. 

The door was barely closed before Hank was saying, "What a bitch.  _She_ was your handler at that time we were working together?" 

"Yes." Connor said shortly.

"No wonder you were always so focused. She seems more than a little... well, uptight. Direct. Harsh." 

~~_Software Instability_ ~~

~~_Significant Signs of Deviancy Detected_ ~~

~~_Filing Report to CyberLife_ ~~

_..._

_~~Report Unsuccessful~~  
_

~~_Suggested Course of Action:_ ~~ _Request Assistance_

"So, what now?" Hank said. 

"We need to go and see Doctor Reighen." Connor's hands tensed. "If you thought Amanda was unpleasant, you really won't like the Doctor." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it :) This chapter went a little different than how I expected, Amanda had a lot to say. More chapters inbound!  
> I appreciate any and all kudos/comments left, both help me to improve and know what I'm doing right/wrong. So any feedback is appreciated ^.^  
> Have a lovely day y'all


	4. The Good Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for you guys :)  
> I just want to say that the support has been amazing! I'm so glad that so many of you are enjoying this fic. I'm trying to stay on top of replying to comments and writing but if there's a delay, I don't want you to think I'm ignoring y'all. I love and appreciate every one of you, as well as your kind words and constructive criticism! ^.^ 
> 
> [WARNING] On a slightly grimmer note, I'm going to put a WARNING on this chapter because Doctor Reighen has no concept of personal space and has no regard for Connor's comfort. It's nothing graphic, but he does undress Connor which I know could make some people uncomfortable. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy :)

The lift journey was silent. 

Their escort guard had left them after they'd exited Amanda's office. Apparently they didn't need chaperoning now. That made Connor even more uneasy, a feeling he was growing accustomed to, but certainly not any more comfortable with. It was a lot of floors to Doctor Reighen's labs. He was right at the bottom of the building, on level -58. Not very many people had clearance to be down there, but Connor had the unfortunate privilege of being one of the few. 

"So what exactly is it that Doctor Reighen's done to you?" Hank asked, glancing briefly at Connor. 

"I fail to follow, Lieutenant." Connor said passively. 

"I haven't seen you ever get this nervous. I know deviancy is a new thing. Something you need to tell me about the Doc?" 

Connor decided to tell the truth. He'd recently found that telling the truth to Hank helped to ease some of his heightened negative emotions. "When I was first produced, he was in charge of assuring that I was able to function adequately, especially in stressful situations." 

"Connor." it was a warning. Hank wanted him to stop dodging the question by using roundabout language.

"He put me through tests to ensure that I was able to work to the best of my ability when things were hard." 

"What kinds of tests?" 

"It bares no relevance to the case." 

"Connor, I can see you're unhappy about this. It's bothering you. Talk to me, would you?" 

Connor hesitated once more, not really wanting to recount everything that had happened. "Well, during one such test he removed my connection with my optical and audio processors in order to see if I would still be able to function, and complete my mission, without full use of my senses. In another, he had me fight hand-to-hand with a number of CyberLife's androids to see how long I would outlast them in a fight, to ensure I was combat ready." 

"That doesn't sound so bad." Hank said cautiously. 

Connor nodded, thinking for a moment. "Unlike Amanda, Doctor Reighen held no restraint when dealing with me. Amanda at least always treated me like a living being. Doctor Reighen saw me as no more than a piece of plastic to be tested for durability. He was always very... intrusive, I suppose is the word for it. As one of my primary creators, he always believed that I belonged to him. It didn't cause me any bother to belong to CyberLife because I believed I was helping people for them. But I never wanted to belong to him." 

Hank didn't say anything for a moment. "Well, no matter what this prick says to you, remember you don't belong to nobody, 'kay?" he said eventually. "And you don't work for CyberLife now, so if he does anything that bothers you,  _anything_ at all, you tell him to stop. And if he don't stop, tell me and I'll knock him the fuck out. Got it?" 

"I don't believe that would be beneficial-" 

" _Got it?"_

Connor felt a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips, but he couldn't remember putting it there. "Yes, Lieutenant." 

When they reached the labs, Hank was both surprised to see Connor's LED was a calm blue. Since they'd arrived at CyberLife, it had been a flickering, nervous yellow. The entire time they'd been in Amanda's office, it had been a flaring angry red. Hank had been starting to worry that Connor was going to get over-stressed like he had this morning. Now, however, the deviant seemed calmer, and had stopped walking like a robot that badly needed oiling and starting walking like a person with a reason to be here. 

The labs were a complex maze of rooms that seemed to each serve a different purpose. Connor informed Hank that each of these labs belonged to Doctor Reighen, as one of CyberLife's senior engineers. Hank wasn't sure he liked the place. He imagined that at night, when all the equipment had been turned off, it'd look like a scene from a horror movie. The thought that Connor had spent god knows how long down here being made to jump through hoops for CyberLife's approval probably didn't help how much he instantly disliked the place. 

"Doctor Reighen?" Connor called as they walked the halls. The only sound on the entire floor was coming from a room to the left of a T-junction corridor, and it sounded unnervingly like drilling. They stopped outside the door, and Connor knocked loudly. 

The sound of the drilling stopped and from the other side of the door, an irritated voice called, " _What_?"

Connor faltered for a second before continuing, his LED briefly flickering yellow. "Doctor Reighen, it's me, Connor. I was hoping that-" 

The door was opened in an instant by a man who looked to be in his early thirties with a handlebar moustache, long sideburns and greasy black hair. His face was marked and weathered for a man his age, but his eyes were youthful and full of curiosity. He was wearing all black clothes, covered by an white apron that had a suspicious amount of blue blood on it. He was wearing thick black rubber gloves that came up to his elbows and looked overjoyed to see Connor. 

"Ah, RK800!" he said excitedly, throwing his arms around the deviant. Connor flinched, but Reighen didn't seem to notice. When Reighen pulled away, he eyed Connor up and down closely, and know Hank knew what he'd meant when he said  _intrusive_. "Look. At. That." he turned to Hank. "It's far more advanced than I ever expected. I didn't think it was even capable of thinking for itself!" 

"Uh-" Hank began, not quite sure what to make of the eccentric man. 

"I came here to have a Deep Systems Scan." Connor said quickly. 

Hank didn't know what a 'deep systems scan' was but he didn't exactly like the sound of it.

"Hm." Reighen said, still not looking Connor in the face. Instead, he grabbed one of Connor's arms and pulled it up as though testing it. "Yes, it had been a while since it were last tested. A number of months, actually, if I recall. It would be a good idea to test the systems for intrusion." 

"I may have contracted a virus from another android." Connor said. 

"Yes, connecting with others can be a dangerous thing." the Doctor finally answered Connor directly. "Especially with software this advanced. Any intrusions could be disastrous. Catastrophic failures all round. Right then." he blinked, looking from Hank to Connor, then back to Hank. "I'm going to take this with me to my office." and he grabbed Connor by the wrist and started walking in the direction of the office. "You can come along too!" he called over his shoulder to Hank. 

Connor glanced back at Hank briefly and the man could see the discomfort on the deviant's face. However, his LED remained blue, and it seemed as though he were still at least partially in control of the situation. 

Reighen led them to an office way at the back of the labs. As they entered, Hank decided it wasn't really an office; it looked more like a hospital room. There was a bed to one side of the room (with straps on it, Hank couldn't help but notice), counters lining one wall, a small desk with a computer cramped to one side and a complex piece of machinery dominating the middle of the room. Connor's eyes were fixed on the machinery, a look of apprehension on his face. 

"Wonderful!" Reighen said brightly. "You can sit on the bed if you wish, this will only take a few minutes." he said to Hank. 

"I think I'll stand, thanks." Hank said, finding the least cluttered corner and leaning against the wall. 

"Right, let's get started then." Reighen said, grabbing Connor by the shoulder and forcibly standing him in the middle of the room, before taking off the deviant's jacket and tie. As he started unbuttoning Connor's shirt, Hank found himself compelled to look away. 

"This really isn't necessary, Doctor." Connor said, sounding a little unsettled. "I'm perfectly capable of undressing myself." 

Reighen didn't reply, acting as though Connor hadn't said anything at all. After a moment Hank saw Connor's suit, crumpled in a heap, drop onto the bed where he was trying to focus his attention. 

"Remove your artificial skin." he heard Reighen say.  _Jesus Christ, this guy doesn't let up._

Hank glanced at Connor briefly to make sure he was alright. Connor looked uncomfortable, and there was a slight blue hue to his cheeks that Hank thought might've been a blush. He was uncomfortable, embarrassed. That much was enough to make Hank uneasy.

"Would you..." Connor began uncertainly. He cleared his throat. "Would you mind looking away?"

Hank met Connor's eyes for just a moment and saw a look of almost... shame. He instantly turned away, trying to ease the deviant's discomfort by providing him with some semblance of privacy. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence, then Doctor Reighen sat down at the desk in Hank's peripheral vision. Several keystrokes, the clicking of the mouse. Nothing else but unsettling silence. 

"You alright, Connor?" Hank asked.

"It appears to have a malfunctioning audio processor." Reighen answered for him. "I haven't started the scan yet." 

Hank resisted the urge to curse the man and instead stayed silent, staring at the wall. He could tell why Connor disliked the Reighen. The man had treated him like he were literally no more than an expensive gadget the entire time they'd been here. He wondered idly to himself if that's how he'd treated Connor when they first met. It's true that he hadn't thought of Connor as more than a big, irritatingly chirpy machine, but Connor himself had believed that at the time also. Was that because of how Reighen treated him, or was that just because of his programming?

Hank heard a loud whirring sound as the machinery started up. He hoped it was safe. The last thing he needed right now was some scanner fucking up Connor's circuitry even more. The room got a little brighter and Hank resisted the urge to turn and look at the machine; he didn't want to risk making Connor feel any more uncomfortable than he already did. 

Hank instead looked over to see what Reighen was doing. The man was sitting at his computer, his back to Connor, his eyes flickering back and forth over the screen. The silence was getting maddening, deafening. Then, a small, quiet squeak-like noise came from behind Hank. 

"Connor?" he said again. "Y'alright, kid?" 

"The DSS can be quite uncomfortable," Reighen told Hank, glancing his way briefly. "It can cause androids to emulate a feeling akin to pain. It's just the scanner testing out the connections between input and output relays. Don't worry, though, it won't be damaged in any way." 

"I-I'm okay, Hank." he heard Connor say. Reighen turned back to the screen and started typing on the computer again. 

The scan took no longer than a minute but it was almost unbearable to Hank. Every now and then, a small noise of pain would come from Connor and each time he had to resist the urge to insist that the scan stop. He didn't like that Connor was uncomfortable, and in pain, but he also knew that they had to make sure that Connor wasn't infected with this virus. 

Finally, Hank heard the sounds of the machine powering down. Reighen sat at his computer a moment longer, before printing out a physical copy of the report. He handed it over to Hank, who didn't have a clue what any of the jargon on the page meant. 

"I printed this as I thought that with a virus going around, it's best not to risk sending it to the android." he said brightly. "All things considered, it's in great shape. There's no virus in its systems, and the only major problems seem to be with the left audio processor, which is completely blown. You should see about getting another one of those, even I can't fix that. However, there was also some conflict of commands that might make it behave irrationally. If it starts doing anything... dangerous, bring it back here and we'll do more tests. If the problems persist, we'll have to deactivate it, which would be a shame. It's the last model of RK800 and I would hate to see my greatest work be destroyed." 

"Uh... thanks." Hank said, not really knowing what else to say as he folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket. Reighen walked past Connor and grabbed his clothes off the bed, before thrusting them into the android's hands. Connor, who'd put his artificial skin back on, just hugged the clothes close to his body. Reighen looked him up and down again, which was far more unsettling now that Connor was naked. 

"Hm." he said thoughtfully. "I really ought to speak with Amanda about getting it brought back here. And perhaps resuming production of the RK800 series. I would hate to see all my hard work go down the drain if it were to be destroyed." he seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment, before resuming his cheery and upbeat manner. "Anyway, it's been wonderful having some insight into its inner workings, it's been a while and a lot has changed." he smiled to Hank. "If you were willing to give it up for any amount of time, I would certainly be eager to see how exactly my android has developed on its own." 

"Yeah, we'll, uh..." Hank cleared his throat and glanced at Connor, who was just looking at the floor and holding his clothes close to him still. "We'll get back to you on that." 

"Wonderful!" the Doctor said, grabbing Connor by the forearm and pulling him out of the room. Hank followed behind quickly. "I'll leave it here, in your seemingly capable hands." he said, letting go of Connor. "If you get lost, I'm sure it can figure its way out. It was designed to have a great memory, so you shouldn't have a problem. If you ever have any further questions about it, or need any more tests, let me know straight away! I'd hate for all my hard work to be for nothing." 

With one last cheery smile and what vaguely constituted as a wave, he turned and rushed back to the room they'd first encountered him in. 

"You alright?" Hank asked straight away, facing Connor in the hallway.

"Yes." 

"Don't lie to me Connor. How do you feel?" 

Connor hesitated for a moment, his LED flickering a vibrant yellow. "I... I think I feel a bit sick. Which is completely irrational, of course, because androids can't produce bile, but-" 

"It's not irrational." Hank told him, putting a hand on Connor's arm and giving it a comforting squeeze. "That man was an asshole with no sense of personal boundaries. You were certainly right about 'intrusive'." 

Connor nodded, looking down at his feet.

"You gonna get dressed, or you just gonna leave here in your birthday suit?" 

Connor looked up, confused. "I don't have a birthday. Nor a suit to commemorate one." 

Hank rolled his eyes. "It's a figure of speech, kid. Put your damn clothes on and let's get out of here." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, any comments/kudos are greatly appreciated! ^.^ 
> 
> I also feel it's pertinent to say at this point that although I've been updating once or twice a day since I started writing this fic, I'm going back to work tomorrow (boo!) so updates might stop coming as often or regularly. I work Wednesday-Sunday so chances are, updates will be on Mondays and Tuesdays. 
> 
> I hope you all have the greatest of days :D


	5. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING this chapter has mentions of sexual assault, but nothing graphic and nothing actually happened, it's just a line of questioning.  
> That being said, I hope y'all enjoy the chapter! :)

_~~Software Instability~~ _

_Malfunction in left Audio Processor_

_Seek Assistance_

_Stress Levels: 10% and holding_

Connor found himself lost in thought and memories as the two of them exited the CyberLife building. Hank didn't say anything either, and Connor deduced that he didn't know what to say. He was perhaps nearly as uncomfortable with their trip to CyberLife as Connor was. It wasn't until the car had pulled out of the CyberLife gates that Hank said anything. 

"We should head straight home." he said. "It's been a long day." 

Connor found himself frowning slightly. It was barely five PM. They could go back to the office and work for another couple of hours. "I think it would be more beneficial to the investigation if we head straight back to the DCPD." he voiced. 

"It's been a stressful day." Hank looked over at him, and Connor noted the concern on his face. "We can write up our reports when we get back." 

"I don't see any benefit in doing the work at home as oppose to-" 

"Look, Connor. I'm tired, and I'm fucking hungry. Sumo needs to go out for a walk before its too late. Let's just call it early tonight and get back to it tomorrow, alright?" 

Connor was certain that Hank was just coming up with excuses because he was concerned for the deviant, but it worked. Connor didn't like the thought of Sumo being cooped up in the house alone all day. 

"Alright." he said finally with reluctance. "I need time to properly attach my new audio processor anyway." 

There was just a beat of silence before Hank took advantage of the opportunity. "You want to talk about what happened back there?" 

Connor felt that same rush of the Thirium 310 rushing to his face as he had in Doctor Reighen's office. He frowned to himself. It made no sense. He knew that humans had a tendency to blush when feeling embarrassed but he had never blushed before, and he was certain that androids couldn't do it. 

"I do and I don't." he replied honestly. 

"Well, how about this," Hank said, keeping his eyes on the road. "I'll ask you questions and you can answer them. That's easier, right?" 

Connor considered it. He could answer questions. There was something in him that whirred excitedly at the thought of answering questions. He'd practically been made to answer questions. He could do that. "I believe that would be beneficial, Lieutenant." 

"Ugh, how many times?" Hank grumbled. " _Hank_." 

"Sorry, Hank." 

There was a moment of silence as Hank thought about his approach. "How do you feel?" 

"Presently?" 

"Yeah, right now." 

Connor thought for a moment, catching sight of the reflection of his LED blinking yellow in the car window. "Comfortable mostly. A little... a little uneasy." 

"Do you still feel sick?" 

Connor remembered all too well the lurching feeling inside him, like his wiring was crawling up his throat and begging to be let out. The churn of his functional fluids moving around in his body in ways that made him feel a little light-headed. "Not as much." he said truthfully. "Still a little bit." 

"But androids can't be sick?" 

"Not typically, but in some situations..." he said, recalling stories he'd heard. "There have been instances of androids accidentally ingesting alien objects or fluids that are then purged from their systems. I've heard it's not very comfortable and rather dangerous." 

"You need to, uh... purge your systems?" Hank said, looking disgruntled. 

"I don't think so. The feeling is more likely caused by uncomfortable emotions that I'm not accustomed to." 

"Okay." Hank said. "Good. If you're gonna puke, though, don't do it in my car please."

"Understood." 

Hank thought about how to word his next question carefully. "How do feel about Doctor Reighen?" 

Connor caught the brief flash of his LED flaring red out of the corner of his eye in the window. He tried for a moment to formulate the right words for his response.

"I don't want a mile-long, sophisticated report." Hank said. "You can be honest. I don't expect you to answer eloquently, but please answer honestly."

"I..." Connor took a deep breath that was entirely unnecessary. "I don't like him. He makes me feel very... unsafe."

"Do you know why that is?" Hank pressed. He glanced over at Connor quickly again, probably trying to gauge his reaction.

"I suspect it's caused by his insistence that I am his." Connor found himself frowning slightly. "It contradicts my newfound freedom and deviancy." 

_~~Software Instability~~ _

_Malfunction in left Audio Processor_

_Seek Assistance_

_Stress Levels: 10% and holding_

~~_Signs of deviancy detected_ ~~

~~_Seek assistance_ ~~

"If you want me to stop asking questions, or you don't want to answer, just tell me, okay?" 

"Yes, L-Hank." 

"Has he ever undressed you before?" 

Connor felt his body stiffen, and his LED flashed red again. 

_Stress Levels: 20% and rising_

"Yes." Connor said, his eyes finding the front windscreen and fixing on the distance. "Though it has never bothered me before. I think this is a deviancy problem." 

"This isn't a deviancy problem, Connor," Hank's voice sounded a little strained. "It's an asshole problem." Hank was silent for nearly a full minute, wondering if he wanted to know the answer to the next question. "Has he ever done anything else to you, Connor?" 

"He ran a number of tests over the course of the months." Connor said, frowning. 

Hank gritted his teeth, trying to find a comfortable way to work his question. "I mean... anything more... intrusive?" 

For a moment, Connor didn't understand what Hank was implying. Then, there was an almost audible click in his head as he understood what Hank was trying to ask. "No, no..." Connor looked over at Hank briefly. The human looked distracted. "He never..." he cleared his throat. Why was he so uncomfortable. "He never showed any interest in... sexual acts. Why?" 

"Well, the asshole undressed you like it was nothing and you said he'd been  _intrusive_ , which is a bit vague." Hank looked relieved, Connor noted. 

"It was necessary for the scan that I be unclothed." Connor said. "I don't believe he had any ill intentions, he just saw that undressing me was more... convenient than me undressing myself." 

"More convenient?" Hank asked. 

"Yes." Connor replied. "He always preferred to do things for me than have me do them myself. I think it was because he saw me as an object, and there are limits to what even advanced objects can do." 

"You're not an object, Connor, don't let him make you think that, got it?" 

"Of course not, Hank." 

"I want to hear you say it." Hank said expectantly. 

"I'm not-" Connor felt his throat catch unexpectedly. Was there a problem with his vocal modulators? "I'm not an object." he repeated finally. 

"Good." Hank said. Connor knew that the human had noticed his voice catch, but didn't say anything. He wondered why. "You looked uncomfortable being naked." 

"Yes," Connor felt the Thirium going to his face again. He wished that would stop. "It wasn't a sensation I was used to. I felt as though I were... very vulnerable, I think, and unsafe." 

"That's normal, you know." Hank said. "Lots of humans, and probably a number of androids, too, experience it." 

"Why does that happen?" Connor asked. "It's just a body. I'm just as safe clothed as I am unclothed." 

"I know, kid." Hank said. "It's just an emotion thing. It takes some getting used to, being naked in front of other people. Especially if you don't particularly like those other people. You'll grow more accustomed to it, don't worry. And if you ever feel unsafe doing something, remember you don't have to do it." he cleared his throat. "If anyone else ever tries taking off your clothes and you're not comfortable with it, you tell them to stop. If they don't stop, you beat the shit out of 'em. Got it?" 

Connor wanted to argue, but found that the thought of being undressed again made him feel a little sick again so he just nodded. 

"Now, I know you didn't really understand it before, but it's not okay for somebody to undress you without your permission, okay?" 

"Lieutenant, I don't see why you're so persistent-"

"Jesus, listen to me, kid. You're not an object, you're a person and you feel things. Someone undressing you without you saying so, and that making you uncomfortable is strictly not okay. It just isn't. Do you understand?" 

"Yes." Connor said, and he was sure he did. There was certainly something not nice about the discomfort he'd felt throughout the whole scenario. Hank was right; that wasn't okay. 

"You seemed very uncomfortable with removing your skin." Hank continued cautiously. 

"I don't want to talk about that." Connor said sharply. 

"Alright." Hank said. "You feel any better yet?" 

Connor thought about it. Hank had certainly managed to soothe some of his doubts and uncertainties. Especially his insecurity with being naked. He hadn't known it was something that was common. "I think I feel a lot better. Thank you, Hank." 

"That's good to hear." Hank said as the car pulled onto his road. "One last question." 

"Yes, Lieutenant?" 

Hank repressed the sigh that built in his throat. Kid was hopeless. "You want to walk Sumo?" 

Connor sat up straighter, feeling a genuine smile rise on his face. Something akin to an excess of power pulsed through his systems and he realised that this was probably excitement. He could feel it in all of his sensory inputs, and suddenly all he could think about was the big, loving dog. 

"I would like that very much." 

*** 

Connor had been gone nearly an hour when Hank finally heard the knock on his front door and a loud barking. He opened the front door to see the android standing in the rain, soaking wet but grinning widely. Sumo scrambled indoors, shook out his fur, and collapsed in a heap in front of a heater. 

"You tryin' to kill off my dog?" Hank asked, shaking his head as Connor stepped inside, dripping rainwater in the house. 

"No, of course not, Hank." he said, still smiling widely. "I think he enjoyed himself. He was playing in the puddles." 

"Uh huh." Hank said disbelievingly. He tried to hide how happy he was to see Connor happy. He'd been cheerier before he was a deviant than now that he could feel things. Hank suspected that retroactively feeling the consequences of every decision you've ever made all at once probably felt like shit. "Will you towel him off? Otherwise he's gonna get all the furniture wet." 

"Of course, Lieutenant." Connor said dutifully.

"And you might want to get changed too, since your suit is drenched." 

Connor seemed to consider it for a moment. In truth, Hank had been trying to think of a way to get Connor out of the suit all evening so that he could wash and iron it. There were creases in his usually pristine shirt made him feel uneasy. It was probably from the way Doctor Reighen had tossed his clothes aside, but it wasn't any less unnerving to see Connor not looking immaculate. 

"I've no other clothes." Connor replied, looking up at Hank questioningly. 

"You can borrow some of mine." Hank replied. "Might be a bit big on you, but they'll fit well enough." 

"Oh... alright." Connor's LED glowed yellow for a moment as he processed it, then looked up at Hank smiling. "Thank you, Hank." 

"That's okay. Now shut up and get on with it, the game's almost on." 

Hank blocked out the sounds of Connor drying Sumo and him going into Hank's bedroom to change by watching the game. Eventually, Connor came over and sat next to Hank on the couch, wearing a pair of black jeans and an old Knights of the Black Death t-shirt. Both were slightly too big for the lithe android, and Hank couldn't help but notice he'd picked the most boring clothes in his closet. As Connor settled into the couch next to him, Sumo scrambled up and settled into the deviant's lap, looking up at Hank with a pout. 

Hank rolled his eyes and scratched the dog on the head before turning back to the game. 

Connor stroked Sumo for a little bit, seeming entranced by the canine, before settling his hands in Sumo's fur and closing his eyes. 

"You goinna sleep?" Hank said with a frown. 

"Androids don't sleep," Connor said absently, his eyes still closed. "I'm writing up my report for the day. I will also set my systems to search for reports of a similar virus overnight to provide the best efficiency." 

Hank thought about the state the android had been when he'd woken up this morning. Connor certainly seemed more himself now, more focused. Hank decided that he'd find a way to contact Markus and the other deviants. It would be good for Connor to spend some time with other androids. As much as he seemed to be feeling a little better, he couldn't work every moment of every day to keep away the bad memories. Hank knew that that was what he intended to do. All Connor ever wanted to was work or walk Sumo, it seemed. 

When the game had finished, Connor was still writing up his report digitally. Hank nudged him gently, and his eyes flew open, looking distant and unfocused. 

"Hank?" he said. 

"You almost finished?" 

"I'm approximately fifty percent of the way through my report." he said. "You do not need to stay awake for me." 

"Uh huh." Hank said. "You gonna be alright tonight?" 

He saw the indecision on Connor's face. "I feel much better than I did last night, Lieutenant." 

"You're sure?" 

"Certain." 

Hank huffed a little. "Right. Well. If you start feeling... stressed or upset or anything, you come and tell me straight away, alright? I mean it." 

"I will, Hank." Connor said. "If my stress levels go above sixty percent, I will inform you immediately." 

"Good." Hank said. "You want some help sorting out your ear thingy before I go to bed?" 

"I'm capable of replacing it on my own." the deviant replied. 

"Alright, good." Hank said. "Well, I'll see you in the morning. I don't know if you have a low power mode or something, but you should try to get some rest." 

Hank didn't wait for Connor to reply, instead heading to his bedroom. Connor, still sitting on the sofa with a sleeping Sumo, frowned slightly. He  _did_ feel a lot better than he had yesterday. This was good. 

With a soft, contented hum, Connor closed his eyes again to finish his report. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, that got a bit darker than I expected.  
> So just to clear up in case of misinterpretation:  
> \- Connor's relationship with Reighen certainly wasn't healthy, but he was never sexually assaulted/abused.  
> \- Connor's discomfort with being undressed by someone else comes from being body-conscious, not from negative past experience. The discomfort came more from being naked than from being undressed by someone else.  
> \- HOWEVER that being said, I just want to say that even if it appears to be non-sexual, it's never okay for somebody to undress you without your consent (especially if you're a minor or otherwise vulnerable). In this instance, Connor doesn't understand why that's unacceptable, but I don't want people reading this and thinking that that's okay, because it's not. At all. 
> 
> Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave me any comments/kudos because feedback is always welcome! Hope everyone's having a lovely day, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon :)


	6. Day One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo everyone! 
> 
> Well it's been a hot minute, hasn't it?
> 
> So real quick before I start this chapter I just wanted to say that there might be some confusion with this fic and another similar fic called 'Infected Code' by oMelting_AngelsO. I just want to clear up any concerns any of you may have; neither of us copied the other's premise when writing this. We both came up w similar ideas for the fic separately- Angels has proof that they had come up with the idea and started working on it before I started posting this online. For my part, I didn't know they'd come up with the idea when I started writing it. It's a weird sort of coincidence :) Anyway, I just wanted to request that nobody send them hate (I'm sure you lovely people wouldn't anyway) because you think they copied my idea or whatever. That didn't happen at all, we literally just both happened to come up with the same premise. 
> 
> Regardless, I suggest you check out Infected Code, because it's interesting to see the comparative different ways we've both taken the same idea, and it's incredibly well-written :) Once more, just to reiterate: there's no hard feelings between us and neither copied the other's idea. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! ^.^

"Would'ya look at that. Plastic's back in fashion." 

Connor briefly glanced up from his desk to see Detective Gavin Reed heading his way with a look of mock surprise on his face. He came over and perched on the edge of Connor's desk. 

"Good morning, Detective Reed." Connor said politely. 

"Still dumb as shit, I see." Reed replied, glancing about. "Where's Hank? He finally manage to shake loose the extra weight?"

"He is currently in a meeting with Captain Fowler, requesting that I be able to assist on an important case." 

Gavin's eyebrows shot up. "No, shit, huh? You think Fowler's gonna let you come back here after the shit you did?" 

Connor remembered Reed's attack on him after he'd discovered the location of Jericho. "Are you upset that I managed to detain you with such ease, Detective Reed?" 

"Don't go thinkin' you're better than me," Gavin leaned forward, grabbing the collar of Connor's jacket and getting uncomfortably close to Connor's face. "You're just a pile of scrap waitin' to go to the recycling plant. I don't care if you got emotions now... if you get in my fucking way, I'm gonna tear you apart." 

Connor found that there was something... pleasing about seeing Reed getting more pissed off. He couldn't explain it, but it was very fulfilling. Like completing a mission. "I doubt any more reports in your disciplinary file will look good on your report, Detective." Connor said brightly. 

In mere fractions of a second, Connor saw Reed's fist bunch up at his side and knew instantly that he was about to be punched. 

"Oi! Reed! The fuck're you doing?" 

Regret, frustration and anger passed over Gavin's face as he let go of Connor with one final snarl. "Hank." he said, looking up as the Lieutenant started walking back to his desk. "Just giving your pet here the welcome back he deserves." 

"Yeah?" Hank said. "Fuck off."

Gavin rolled his eyes, then reached over and messed up Connor's immaculate hair. The action was just a cover, it seemed, because he spoke quietly to Connor as he did it. "Your old man won't always be around to save you, prick."

With that, he gave Hank a sarcastic smile before turning and going back to work. Hank sat down opposite Connor, watching Gavin go suspiciously. 

"Fuckin' asshole." he muttered. "Y'alright?" 

"Of course," Connor replied, trying to straighten out his hair. "I can handle Detective Reed, Hank. You don't need to be concern yourself with my wellbeing." 

Hank rolled his eyes. "Yes, you're a vision of perfect 'wellbeing'." 

Connor, who still wasn't entirely accustomed to sarcasm, nodded triumphantly. "How did your discussion with Captain Fowler go?"

"Yeah... alright, all things considered." Hank said. "He said that given how much help you can provide on this case, you can help as a consultant." 

Connor cocked his head slightly. "I admit myself surprised. I believed that after I broke into the evidence room, he would be less than eager to have me back here." 

Hank shrugged. "There's a lot goin' around about Android rights an' stuff right now. It looks good on us if you're here. Besides..." he glanced up at Connor. "You're one of the best investigators we have." 

"Well, I  _was_ designed specifically to be the most advanced investigator ever created." 

Hank ignored that. "On the subject of Android rights," he said, leaning forward a little. "I talked to Fowler about the whole CyberLife situation." 

"The CyberLife 'situation'?" 

"I take it you remember Amanda's deal?" Hank said, looking a little disgusted as he said the name. Connor nodded once. "Well, I told Fowler about how they're thinkin' about stopping production of your, uh, co-bio- biocompatents-" 

"Biocomponents." Connor corrected. 

"- and he said that there's an Android rights lawyer who's been fighting for small cases of Androids being mistreated. Sounds like the kind of guy that would be able to win a case against CyberLife." 

"I'm not sure I follow, Lieutenant." 

Hank huffed a little. "Look, kid, we tell this guy everything. We file a lawsuit against CyberLife and take them to court. We win the court case, CyberLife carries on making your biocomponents, next time you bust an ear we'll have 'em on hand. Right?" 

Connor thought about it for a moment. "I don't believe that CyberLife are doing anything illegal by discontinuing production of my biocomponents." 

"I dunno," Hank said. "But if it is illegal, this guy can get them for it. And even if it isn't illegal, he can always appeal to a jury. A lot of people have a lot of sympathy for Androids; a lot of people aren't too happy with CyberLife. We get them on our side, CyberLife loses the case. 

Connor frowned. "I'm not entirely sure that's how court cases work." 

"It's worth a shot though, right?" 

_Running simulations_

_Calculating odds of success_

_Success: 38%_

_Failure: 62%_

_Odds of aggravating CyberLife: 96.7%_

"Potentially." Connor replied thoughtfully. "However, consider that if we took CyberLife to court, they would certainly not be willing to give me any more biocomponents if we didn't win. As soon as we make any sort of attack against them, they'll completely cut me off of biocomponents." 

"You're scared." Hank observed. Connor bristled. Scared wasn't good. 

"I don't- I'm not-" 

"It's okay," Hank said quickly. "It's normal." 

Connor was silent for a moment. "What happens if I'm fatally hurt? CyberLife won't provide me the medical care I would need." 

"Well, they're not going to give you that shit unless you work for them. This has a higher chance of working than if you just ignore them." 

"What if I were to accept the deal?" 

A beat of silence. 

"Don't even fucking think about it." Hank said. Connor looked away thoughtfully. "Listen to me, Connor. I'm not one to tell you what you can and can't do, but these people treated you like shit and made your life hell. Everything they've done to you... it's not worth going back to them, Connor." 

"I don't want to die, Hank." Connor said quietly. 

"You're not gonna die, I won't let you." Hank said. "You're a stubborn bastard." 

"Their offer is fair." 

Hank eyed the deviant for a moment. "Okay. Well don't make a decision yet. I want you to talk to Markus first. He's had the decision to either serve humans or die for his freedom; I think he'll give you some things to think about. I don't want you to rush into something you'll regret." 

"I don't know that Markus-" 

"Will you just fucking do it?" Hank said. "I know you're not getting along with Markus right now. This decision will literally decide your goddamn future, Connor. You need to go down  _every_ path." 

"Okay, Hank. I'll talk to Markus." 

"Good. Did you find anything while I was talking to Fowler?" 

Connor brought up a file on his screen. "This Android's death is similar to the HK400's. Her name was Katie, she was a deviant who protested with Markus in the revolution. I believe she may have also suffered the same virus that the HK400 did." 

"Take me back to the beginning." Hank said, frowning a little. "How many victims is that now?" 

"It's hard to say exactly." Connor began. "The killer doesn't have a calling card or an MO. Before I started working on the case, there were at least ten cases of confirmed Android attacks. However, given the current social view on Androids, there may also be more that haven't come forward. The attacks, that we know of, were instigated in a place of convenience, usually somewhere private. The Androids have nothing in common as far as I can tell. They were each assaulted by one individual, caught completely unaware. All were left alive, but abused and beaten severely." 

"Were they attacked by humans or Androids?" 

"The reports differ." Connor said thoughtfully. "Some say that they are certain their attacker was human, others say that they definitely saw LEDs. It's hard to say definitively either way; every day, it's becoming harder to differentiate between Androids and humans." 

"Alright, so if none of them were killed, why were we called to that crime scene yesterday?" Hank asked. 

"That would've been a pertinent question to ask before we got there, Lieutenant." Connor said with a wry smile. "The HK400 who was killed had previously had connections with one of the original victims." 

"What kind of connection?" 

"They worked together on several projects for CyberLife and were considered to be friends by most who knew them. The systems flagged it in relation to the attack." 

Hank frowned. "I really don't like where this is going. Did this Katie have any connections to the original attacks?" 

"That's what I was just about to check." Connor said, his fingers flying across the screen. 

"This is a big fucking mess." Hank muttered as Connor searched the databases. 

"She _did_ have contact with one of the original victims." the deviant said, feeling a little hopeless as he read the report. "There are records of romantic messages between her and the second victim." 

"Androids send  _love letters_?"

"That's not what's important right now," Connor said. "And, besides which, they weren't letters. They were technological communications." 

Hank rolled his eyes. "What does it matter?" 

"Well..." Connor cleared his throat (he really needed to stop doing that). "You can't receive a virus through a letter." 

"Oh." Hank said, his eyes going wide. "Oh, shit! You think they got the virus from the Androids who were originally attacked?" 

"I have a theory," Connor said. "But I don't think you're going to like it." 

Hank groaned. "Hit me with it." 

"So, we know that _at least_ ten original victims were attacked. Some say they were attacked by a human, some say they were attacked by an android. What if the attack wasn't to hurt them, but to make use of them? They're all in positions where they have contact with lots of different Androids on a daily basis. If they were to have been implanted with a dormant strain of the virus, one that awakens on connection with other Androids, it would be possible to spread the virus around the Android population quickly by using them as carriers." 

Silence. The two of them were lost in the implications of what Connor was suggesting. 

"Is that even possible?" 

Connor ran some calculations and simulations. "I believe it to be not only possible but probable. Whoever created the virus implants a dormant strain in as many Androids as they can; they conduct some research and attack primarily Androids in positions of high population. They hurt the Androids to make it look like a hate crime, so nobody considers searching the Androids' systems. When they connect with other Androids, the virus is spread to them." he hesitated. "In mere days, the virus would infect the entire Android population _._ There would be no way of knowing who has and hasn't been infected." 

Silence again.

"Fuck." Hank said. "Fuck! We need to tell someone about this! We need to bring in the Androids who were originally attacked. We need to get out warnings, messages. Tell Androids to stop connecting with each other, sending messages and- Connor? Will you fucking pay attention, this is important! What's wrong with you?" 

Connor finally turned his gaze to Hank, and the human thought he looked a shade paler than usual. "I'm getting reports, Lieutenant. Lots of reports. Androids are dying. Fast." 

"Fuck! How many?" 

Connor's LED blinked yellow. "I..." 

"How many, Connor?" 

Connor shook his head, looking stunned. Then in a quiet, shocked voice, he said, " _Hundreds_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one's a bit short, I felt that that was a clean place to end the chapter. 
> 
> I just want to take a moment to say that I really appreciate the support this fic is getting (I feel like I've probably said it before but I'll say it again a hundred more times probably). I was nervous about some of the themes and stuff in the last couple of chapters, but they were both very well-received and any criticism was purely constructive and reasonable. Y'all are the greatest, you're reminding me why I love writing so much, and especially writing communities. So, thank you and keep being absolutely awesome, y'all are crazy!! :D 
> 
> Have a lovely day and always feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter with a comment or a kudos ^.^


	7. Outbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo everyone ^.^ 
> 
> It's been a few days since I last posted, I've been crazy busy with work and the like. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

_Early this morning, a catastrophic event hit the Android community -_

"What did the man who attacked you look like?" 

_\- Simultaneously, many Androids suffered a critical systems failure that deactivated them -_

"Could you pick the Android out of a line-up?" 

_\- casualties are estimated to be close to a thousand so far, with many still unaccounted for -_

"How many Androids have you had contact with since the attack?" 

_\- no chance of reactivation -_  

"I need a list of names and models." 

_\- leaving many vital services, such as upkeep of plumbing and customer service, crippled -_

"When did you last have contact with the HK400?" 

_\- rumour has spread of a 'virus' supposedly corrupting Android systems -_

"Try harder, we need answers!"

_\- officials saying that Androids should avoid all types of contact with each other -_

"Androids are dying and you're  _not sure_?" 

_\- an attack on the Android population? A recent survey found that 68% of humans were unhappy with the Android Revolution -_

"I  _need_ answers!" 

_\- it's been two days since the virus outbreak, and the police_ still  _have no leads on who formulated the attack, which begs the question: Are humans really trying their hardest to help their technological counterparts? -_

Hank looked over at his deviant partner, sitting across the desk. Connor was scanning files on the screen, looking frustrated and dishevelled. It was rare to see him out of his suit, but when Hank had gotten to work this morning, Connor was already at the office, wearing a pair of jeans, a jumper and a jacket. For somebody who supposedly didn't need to sleep, he looked awfully tired and he was always tense. 

"I got a letter from Markus." Hank said finally, turning to face Connor. "He said that a number of his people have died, but- Connor, are you listening to me?" 

Connor didn't respond. 

"Connor!" 

The deviant flinched, before turning to look at Hank. "Yes?" 

"Are you listening to me?" 

"No." Connor blinked twice. "Sorry, Lieutenant. I was preoccupied." 

"That's okay," Hank said. "I was just saying that I got a letter from Markus." 

"Oh." 

"He's safe, as are most of his inner circle, but he's lost a lot of Jericho's number." Hank said carefully. Connor's LED whirred yellow for a moment as he processed that, but he didn't say anything. "You should go and visit him. Check in on Jericho." 

"Considering the current prohibition on Android contact, I don't believe that would be a good idea." Connor looked back to his screen. "Besides which, I need to get to the bottom of this." 

"Connor, you haven't stopped working for over forty eight hours. You need a break. It's starting to drain you." 

"I'm an Android, I don't get tired." Connor replied absently. "Were you aware that a representative from CyberLife is coming here to discuss countermeasures to the virus?" 

"Yeah." Hank said, raising an eyebrow. "They're trying to come up with a way of stopping the virus." 

"A firewall. That would certainly help, if they could make one that would work." 

"You don't think they can?" 

"I've seen the virus close-up." Connor glanced up at Hank briefly. "It's far more complex than any human can comprehend. I didn't get a long look at it, obviously, but it was very... fluid. Like it could change constantly if it was needed to. It was developing even in the second I was in contact with it." 

"Sounds almost like it could be self-aware." 

Connor shook his head, finally giving Hank his full attention. "No, it's like... I don't know how to explain it. Are you aware of the Greek myth of Daedalus and The Labyrinth?" 

"Um... vaguely. With the minotaur, right?" 

"Yes." Connor said. "The story is that Daedalus created an infinite Labyrinth of endless passages and turns. There is no beginning and no end. It just keeps going, ever-changing and inescapable. That's what the virus is like. It's self-creating. The coding is so complex that if it encountered a firewall, it would be able to just build a way around it." 

"So what you're saying is that it's unstoppable?" 

Connor thought for a moment, his LED blinking yellow. "Well, if we're still using the Deadalus metaphor, the man himself was able to escape the Labyrinth, as well as a hero named Theseus, who used Ariadne's Thread for help." 

Hank frowned. "What?" 

"If we can find out who created the virus, they would probably be able to stop it."

"Oh." Hank said. "Makes enough sense. Where do we start?" 

"Do you recall us searching the crime scene where the HK400 had been killed?" 

"Yeah... we never really got the bottom of that, did we?" 

"No, we didn't." Connor agreed. "I think that might be the best place to start. The HK400 attacked a human, then died of the virus - long before all the other Androids did." 

"Speaking of which," Hank interrupted. "Do we know why they all dropped at once like that?" 

"Well, they're still analysing some of the bodies down in the lab but my theory is that the virus had been dormant and it was then activated." 

"But why now?" 

"Contrary to popular belief, I do not have answers to every question." Connor said, looking a little irked. 

"Alright. Back to the HK400." 

"He attacked the home of one Bryan Cardion. There was blood of an unidentified human individual there. So the HK400 visited Cardion's house, confronted another human, then was left at the mercy of the virus. It doesn't make sense." 

Hank shuffled a few open files on his desk. "Well, what if this Bryan Cardion - or the unidentified human - had something to do with the virus and activated it in order to destroy the HK400." 

"Hm." Connor's LED flashed yellow rapidly, before he finally sat back, huffing in frustration. "There are just too many missing pieces. There's too much we don't know." 

"Perhaps we should take a break." Hank said, staring seriously at Connor. "You can go visit Jericho, I can spend some time with my dog." 

"I already told you, Lieutenant, I  _do not_ need a break." Connor said tensely. 

"Yeah, well, it sometimes helps to look at things with a fresh set of eyes." he waited for Connor to argue that he wasn't going to replace his eyes, but he just slumped down a little. "Five hours, how 'bout that? That's not going to negatively affect the investigation. I'll have the others start looking for Bryan Cardion, and we'll come back here in a few hours and sort everythin' out." 

Connor opened his mouth to argue, but he had exhausted every lead they already had. "Alright," he said finally. "Five hours. Then straight back here." 

"You're going to Jericho, yes?" 

"Yes Lieutenant." 

"Good." Hank said. "I'm going to send Markus a letter to make sure you go. I don't wanna hear that you've been here working, alright?" 

"Yes, Dad." Connor had tried to make it a joke, but he hadn't quite mastered sarcasm yet. He'd meant it to come across that he was implying that Hank was acting more like a father than a partner, but it came across quite sincerely. There was a moment of silence where he tried to compute how to put the right amount of emphasis in the word to make it sound right. "I didn't mean-" 

Hank scowled. "Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go see Sumo. See you later." 

Connor inwardly scolded himself for trying to work out sarcasm, before getting up to leave the precinct. 

"Hey, lookie what it is." he heard a familiar voice say. "The plastic prick, with no Hank around to protect him." 

"Detective Reed." Connor tried to sound neutral but found himself coming across rather irritated. He turned around to see Gavin standing behind him, smiling broadly. 

"Well, that was truly heartwarming to see." Gavin said, putting a hand over his heart. "You think Hank is really your old man, huh? That must'a hurt when he just shut you down like that." 

"It was a miscommunication." Connor said, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair and walking towards Reed.

"Oh, of course it was." Gavin smiled wider, clearly enjoying himself. "Doesn't make it hurt any less that he just walked away, though, does it? Yeah, you feel that now, don't you? You feel the hurt inside you that he rejected you?" 

"I don't-" 

"Or did you feel nothing?" Gavin stepped in Connor's way, a curious but malicious look in his eye. "Are you just the heap of plastic that we all know you are? You know, the reason why Hank walked away is because he'd never want a piece of plastic for a son." 

Connor held back a huff, trying to avoid being irritated by Gavin's words. He was just trying to get a reaction from the deviant. Connor was determined to not give him the satisfaction, so he ignored Reed and tried to side-step him. Gavin mirrored the action. 

"Ooh, look at that." Gavin said gleefully. "Maybe they were right about you. You look almost...  _angry_!" he grinned. "You know why Hank doesn't want you? He had a kid, a proper kid, a real kid. He'll never be your dad because his actual,  _real_ son-" 

Connor was surprised as Gavin was when he grabbed the Detective by the lapels and pushed him up against the wall. He tried to ignore the feeling racing through him that was clouding his judgement and ignored the orders telling him that he should hit Gavin. "Don't fucking talk about Cole, you asshole." he said, gripping Reed's jacket tighter.  He found himself getting closer to Gavin's face, invading the human's personal space and making him physically retreat. 

Gavin looked shocked for a moment, wincing at the pain spreading up his back. Then, he started laughing. His head tipped back against the wall and he let out a deep, loud laugh. Connor found it was more frustrating, making the urge to hurt Reed more prominent. He let go of the human's jacket, feeling his face scrunch up and his brow furrow. Reed stopped laughing, his eyes staring down Connor with amusement. 

"Run along, Plastic." he smirked. "Wouldn't want to disappoint Daddy now, would we?" 

Connor spent just a second preconstructing five different ways he could beat the shit out of Gavin right here, but forced himself to not rise to the human's bait. Reed was trying to get him in trouble, trying to get him banned from working with the police. He forced a smile onto his face which felt alien. "Have a nice day, Detective." 

Before he could change his mind, Connor turned and marched out of the precinct. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one was a bit shorter and wordier than a lot of you were probably expecting. Don't worry, there'll be some action-y stuff soon :) 
> 
> Next chapter will be Markus & Co. at Jericho. This fic assumes that Simon, North and Josh are all alive, and Kara, Alice and Luther made it to Canada. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave any kudos/comments, they help me to improve and know what y'all want to see in this fic ^.^ Have a lovely day everyone


	8. Jericho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo everyone!! 
> 
> This chapter has mentions of/implied minor character death, be warned. 
> 
> Otherwise, I hope y’all enjoy ^.^

_~~Software Instability~~ _

_Stress Levels: 20% and holding_

~~_Signs of deviancy detected_ ~~

~~_Seek assistance_ ~~

Connor found himself stopping hesitantly outside the previously abandoned Chapel that now served as home to Jericho. He'd been here before, but the other times he'd been here, he'd hidden from the deviants who's lives he'd ruined. He was just considering walking away - he would make up some lie to Hank, he was sure - when there was a loud shout from inside, followed by more panicked shouts. 

Feeling some obligation to the deviants inside, he pushed the door open to be met with a horrific sight. 

All around the Chapel, furniture had been pushed to the sides of the room and make-shift beds scattered around the floor, made up of blankets and pillows. Androids filled every bed, roughly a hundred of them scattered around. Blue blood covered blankets and pillows, scattered around everywhere like several Androids had just been exploded. Connor knew that if he scanned the room, he'd find even more. The hundred or so sick Androids were in various stages of the virus that Connor had seen a couple of times before. Other Androids bustled around hurriedly, wearing thick gloves. 

"Connor!" Markus was by his side in an instant, though Connor hadn't even seen him. 

"Markus. I-" 

"We've got six more arriving. You're on bed duty." he thrust a pair of thick gloves into Connor's arms, then thrust a bundle of sheets at him. "Don't touch anyone skin-to-skin. There's some space over there." He pointed to a spot by the alter, gave Connor an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before turning and heading over to a gaggle of people in the far corner. 

Connor stood with the blankets in his arms for a moment before going over to the spot Markus had pointed out. He dropped the blankets on the floor so that he could pull the thick gloves on his hands, before going about setting out the blankets into what could be roughly considered beds. 

Over the next few hours, Connor was ordered about left and right. It started with the bed, then he had to clean up some fluids that a deviant had purged, then he'd had to run to get cold packs for the number of Androids overheating, then he helped usher in new Androids who had heard that this was some kind of hospital. When everything had calmed down a bit, Markus and two of his friends (Josh and North) began moving the bodies of the Androids who'd died. Connor decided to help, despite the way it made his thirium pump feel like it was becoming twisted and tangled. 

He lifted up an Android who had deactivated just a few minutes ago. She was pretty, still flawless unlike so many of scarred deviants who'd been attacked. She had long dark hair that meant she was probably beautiful, until her face and body had been covered in thirium and her body had shut down. 

He walked out to the back of the Chapel, where a graveyard was quickly being put together. Markus stood to one side, talking quietly to North. Josh clocked Connor as he walked out and gestured silently to a row of bodies that laid just outside the Chapel. Connor laid down the Android he was carrying, as carefully as he could, and avoided looking at the long row of bodies. 

Josh came over and stood beside Connor. "You want to bring the rest out or start digging?" he asked quietly. 

"I'll dig." Connor decided. Josh nodded, and there was a moment of respectful silence. "What are they talking about?" Connor nodded to Markus and North. 

Josh's face visibly fell. He glanced back at the chapel, then at his two friends. "Simon's sick." 

Connor felt those knots in his wiring again. "How badly?" 

"Judging by the symptoms he's showing..." Josh sighed heavily. "He's only got a few hours left." 

"I-I'm sorry." Connor said, not really sure what else he _could_ say. 

Josh shrugged tiredly. "There's nothing we can do." he grabbed a shovel and passed it to Connor. "Look, I know you haven't exactly felt... welcome, here. But helping us now, when we need it the most is something we really appreciate. You've made mistakes in the past - I'm not going to pretend you haven't - but we all have. Jericho is very forgiving, though. If you can prove to the others that you're really one of us now, you can call this place your home. 

"Thank you, Josh." Connor said quietly, taking the shovel. "I've got to get back to the investigation soon, but I can stay here a bit longer for this." 

"Good to hear." Josh put a reassuring hand on Connor's shoulder and smiled sadly. "There's a lot of bodies to bury, we need all the help we can get. I'm going to get back to work, let me know if you need anything, alright?" 

Connor turned to the hard soil behind him, the shovel feeling impossibly heavy in his hands. After a moment of respectful silence, he started digging.

*** 

Hank had spent the evening watching the game and drinking. 

It had been a long time since he'd been able to drink without a surprisingly cheery android telling him about all the negative effects it would have on his health. So, with Connor away at Jericho for a bit, he'd kicked back to finally watch some TV and drink whatever he wanted with some goddamn peace and quiet. Sumo was up on the sofa, curled up with his head resting in Hank's lap. He seemed a little disappointed when Hank had returned home alone, which he tried not to take to heart. 

The game was nearly over when Sumo suddenly jumped up and scampered over to the door, barking loudly. With a heavy sigh, Hank got up and opened it. 

Standing outside, his clothes covered in soil and his expression unusually unhappy, was Connor. He was slumped slightly, which made him look uncomfortable and small. His LED was flickering a thoughtful yellow and there was a slight quirk in his eyebrow that seemed to be fixed there.

"Y'alright, kid?" Hank said. Connor looked up, almost shamefully, and nodded. The dejected look on his face made Hank's heart hurt a little, so he took Connor by the arm and pulled him inside. "What's up?" 

"I was at Jericho." Connor said. His voice didn't have its usual energy to it, and he huddled his shoulders a little when he walked. "There were... a lot of casualties." 

Hank hesitated for a second, then grabbed Connor around the shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. There was a long moment of hesitation, but finally Connor relented, putting his face in Hank's shoulder and staying deadly still for a moment. Sumo whined at his feet, looking for attention and confused as to why Connor was acting strangely. 

Hank waited until Connor was ready to pull away. For the longest time, all he could see of the deviant was the tufts of messy brown hair. Finally, Connor pulled out of Hank's embrace, looking a little embarrassed. 

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant." he said, trying to straighten himself out again and standing up a little more. "I didn't mean to-" 

"It's fine, Connor. Must'a been a tough day. Sit down." he put a hand on Connor's shoulder and guided him over to the sofa. 

"I do feel as though my circuits are perhaps a little overworked." Connor said, sitting back so that Sumo could jump up and curl up on his lap. For such a big dog, he could certainly make himself small when he wanted to sit on Connor. As the Saint Bernard settled in, Connor ran his hands through the fur on the dog's head and nestled his fingertips there, looking distracted. 

"You want to talk about it?" Hank asked as he sat down next to the two of them.

"No." Connor said firmly. "I think... I think I just want to relax." 

"Alright then." Hank replied, quietly relieved that he didn't have to have another talk with the deviant. He'd be there for Connor whenever he needed him, but he needed a break between all these emotional heart-to-hearts. He wasn't used to it. 

Hank settled back and started watching the game, though staying aware of Connor at all times. Connor didn't say anything, just watched the game with Hank and occasionally got distracted by giving Sumo love and affection. The dog didn't seem to mind. He didn't even pipe up when he noticed that Hank was drinking. When the game had finished, the two of them watched an old black-and-white film noir movie. It was absolutely terrible, but the both of them were entranced from beginning to end. 

By the time it was finished, it was nearly half twelve and Hank was getting tired. The two of them had work in the morning, and though Connor wouldn't need sleep, he certainly did. 

"I'm gonna hit the hay." Hank said, getting up and stretching. Connor just nodded. "I'll leave some clean clothes out for you if you want to have a shower. You're covered in dirt, it might be a good idea." 

Connor nodded again, turning his eyes down to Sumo. "Thanks, Hank." 

"It's alright." Hank said, retreating to his room and returning a moment later with a set of pyjamas. He dropped them on the arm of the sofa. "No working tonight, alright? Watch some TV or whatever. Just... no work." 

"Yes, I believe that would be..." Connor took a deep, artificial breath. "Beneficial."

Hank glanced at him once more, considering the android before him that had changed so much in just the few month that they'd known each other. "G'night, Connor." 

"Good night, Hank." Connor said, glancing up briefly. "Have a nice sleep." 

Hank returned to his bedroom and settled down in bed. The alcohol buzzing through his body made it easier to close his eyes and drift immediately asleep. 

***

Connor watched TV for a little while. He found it to be an enjoyable distraction, and found himself wondering if this was why humans felt the need to do it so often; it was nice to not have to think, even for a brief while. He watched two movies after Hank had gone to bed,  _Titanic_ (which his files told him was a favourite) and  _The Skin I Live In_ which was a lesser-known Spanish melodrama. Of the two, he found  _Titanic_ to be more interesting; the latter was confusing and made him a little uncomfortable to watch. 

It was early in the morning when the films had finished. Connor finally turned off the TV, laying back on the sofa. Sumo huffed at being disturbed, before settling back down on Connor's torso. 

"You don't mind that I'm an Android, do you?" Connor said quietly, stroking the dog behind the ears. Sumo pouted and nuzzled his head into Connor's hand. "I'm glad that you like me." he added.

He considered for a moment going over his case notes but the thought of it was oddly very unappealing to him. He found himself winding his fingers through Sumo's reassuringly thick fur. The dog made a small noise of contentment and burrowed his head in Connor's shoulder. Connor found himself trying to settle down and rid his body of its usual stiffness. Finally 'comfortable', he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment on the Zen Garden that he hadn't been back to for a while. 

It was calm here. There was a soft rain coming down, but Connor had come to enjoy the rain. The weather wasn't usually especially nice in Detroit, and he found he had a certain fascination with the storms and rain that often came. 

The white stone paths that usually connected the place had been replaced with loose gravel pathways, the roses that Amanda used to tend to now replaced with a series of yellow and white daffodils. Around the central pathways, the water that used to sit uninhabited and unwelcoming was now full of tropical fish of all kinds, though there were more Dwarf Gouramis than any other fish. Even the rain seemed softer than before. 

Connor walked across the gravel path, ignoring the rain sliding down his collar, to where the small rowboat was waiting for him. It seemed undeterred by the rain, and when Connor climbed in, he found it to be entirely dry. With one easy push, he was sliding away from the shore, down the river. 

How long had it been since he'd last been here? He couldn't say. He was amazed to see the changes that had occurred after he broke free of CyberLife's hold. The place had always been peaceful, of course, but there had always been a little tension there. Like Connor had to be on his best form. Like he was always expected to answer right, like he needed to be on his toes. Now, it seemed calm... properly calm, like he could just  _relax_.

He laid back on the boat, enjoying the feeling of rain on his synthetic skin. The only sound was the soft pitter-pattering of the rain on the water around him. The slight wind kept the boat moving gently around the moat and he took the time to just consider how much he appreciated feeling  _alive_.

"Connor?" 

The deviant's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring up at Lieutenant Anderson's frowning face. 

"Yes, Lieutenant?" 

"I thought Androids couldn't sleep. You weren't working, were ya?" 

"No," Connor said truthfully, moving to sit up but finding himself weighed down by a bundle of warm fur. "I was relaxing." 

"Uh huh." Hank looked like he didn't entirely believe Connor. "Well, you want to get going? Gotta be at the precinct in half an hour, and traffic'll be hell." 

Connor frowned. How much time had he spent in the Zen Garden? 

"Of course," he said, ignoring the slight guilt he felt when he gently pushed Sumo off. The dog padded away to the kitchen, looking a little unhappy with him. "I'm always ready." 

"Didn't take that bath then?" Hank sighed. Connor realised he was still covered in dirt. "You can't turn up to work looking like that." 

"Well, I'll have a quick shower and meet you there, then. I'd hate for you to be late due to my own neglect of personal hygiene." 

Hank rolled his eyes. "Right. Yeah. I'll see you at the precinct then." 

As Hank left for work and Connor started running the shower, he found himself feeling somewhat... less overwhelmed than usual. He felt calmer, less stressed. A simple systems scan told him that all of his functions were working at much higher capacity than they were yesterday. 

Connor got ready for work, considering for the first time that maybe it was good to relax every once in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one got a bit darker, I apologise :( and sorry about Simon, he kinda drew the short straw.
> 
> On another note, I’ve been flicking back and forth between Connor’s and Hank’s POVs when writing. Just wondered what everyone thought about that/if anyone has preferences on if the fic is more Hank POV, more Connor POV or mostly equal. 
> 
> Anyway, as always I hope y’all enjoyed this chapter and have the loveliest of days ^.^


	9. Lawyer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone :) Another day, another chapter! I don't really have much to say, except I hope y'all enjoy this one ^.^

Hank could hardly believe what he was hearing. 

When he'd arrived at work just ten minutes ago, he'd been greeted by a CyberLife Android with a synthetic smile and apparently a message for him and Connor. Who the fuck had sent them a messenger bot? 

The Android waited patiently on the other side of Hank's desk for Connor to arrive. She'd insisted that the message would be delivered to the two of them at the same time, and refused to answer any questions until Connor arrived. Hank waited uncomfortably behind his desk for his partner to show up. He politely offered the Android - who had introduced herself as Ayria - something to read, but she declined and just waited, deadly still. It crept Hank out a little bit to have her just sit there, waiting expectantly as she stared into the middle distance, but he quickly ran out of small talk to make. 

Connor arrived at work no more than ten minutes later than Hank (how he'd showered that quick, Hank would never know), dressed once more in a pair of jeans, a black jumper and a brown jacket. Now that he seemed more relaxed and calm, the look suited him well. 

He frowned at Ayria as he approached, and kept a comfortable distance of five feet at all times. 

"Hello?" he said, glancing at Hank as he sat down at his desk. 

"Hello, Connor." Ayria said. "My name is Ayria. I was sent by CyberLife with a message for yourself and Lieutenant Hank Anderson." 

"A message from CyberLife?" Hank said. 

"Yes." Ayria answered. She held out her hand to Connor. "I'm to pass the information digitally so that it cannot be overheard." 

Hank's eyebrows shot up so high they threatened to leave his face. "You're kidding, right? You want to do that weird connection thing with that virus going around?" 

Ayria tilted her head a little, glancing briefly at Hank. "I am not infected." 

"We have no way of knowing," Connor said, eyeing the other Android up and down. "You've given us no indication as to why this information would be so important that I would risk my life for it." 

Ayria gave a Connor a bland smile. "He said you might be sceptical..." 

"Who?" Connor prompted. 

Ayria leaned forward as though revealing an important secret. "The message is from Doctor Alexander Reighen." 

Hank looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on in the Androids' brains. Connor seemed surprised, concerned... conflicted. Finally, he reached out his hand towards Ayria. 

"Connor,  _don't_." Hank said sharply. The deviant turned briefly to him. "It's not worth the risk. Whatever message that asshole has for you, it's not worth it." 

"It could be about the case." Connor said. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but this is a risk I'm willing to take." 

And before Hank could stop him, Connor lurched forward, the synthetic skin on his hand already peeling back to reveal the white plastic beneath. He grabbed Ayria's outstretched hand, and for one terrifying moment, the two of them remained entirely still. Both LEDs blinked yellow in unison, and Hank kept his eyes on Connor's face, looking for any tell of danger. 

After what felt like it could've been several minutes, but was in reality just a few seconds, Connor pulled away, blinking in confusion. 

"You alright?" Hank said urgently. "Why don't you ever listen to me? You got the virus now?" 

"No." Connor seemed a little sharper than usual. "Ayria was telling the truth. She's clean." 

"Okay," Hank wasn't entirely sure he believed Connor. "What message did Reighen have for you?" 

Connor frowned a little, glancing around the office and finding Detective Reed's eyes on him. "This probably isn't the best place to talk about it," he said. "We can talk in the car." 

He was already up and moving, leaving Hank sitting at his desk, looking confused. "The car? Where are we going?" 

"I'll tell you in the car." Connor insisted, turning to face the other android. "Thank you, Ayria. You can return to CyberLife now." 

"A glorified messenger Android." Hank grumbled as he got up and pulled his coat on. "What will CyberLife think of next?" 

Connor was clearly itching to go, so he grabbed his stuff quickly and the two of them moved to leave the precinct. However, they'd made it not four steps before Hank heard from behind him, "Anderson! Connor! A word, please." 

Hank closed his eyes and muttered under his breath,  _fuck's sake Jeffrey_ , before turning to face his Captain's office. "We got time to have a quick chat with Fowler?" he asked Connor. The deviant consulted his internal clock, then nodded. 

"We're on a tight time frame, but we have a thirty seven minute window to talk with Fowler before we depart." 

Without another word, the two of them walked quickly to Fowler's office, closing the door behind them and sitting down impatiently on the other side of the desk. 

"How's the investigation going?" Fowler asked as they sat. 

"We have a lead." Connor said quickly. "We have a short time frame to keep on it, though, so can we please make this brief?" 

"Of course," Fowler said, standing up and pacing a little. "The investigation comes first, that's what I like about you, Connor. Anyway. I talked with Harold, and he's interested in taking this case-" 

"Harold?" Connor cut in. 

"Harold Sonney is the lawyer I told you about." Hank told him, realising he hadn't given the deviant too much information. "Remember, I said someone might be able to help you about CyberLife?" 

"Continue." Connor nodded.

"Anyway," Fowler said. "Harold said that given the new rights and laws involving Androids, he might be able to convince a judge and jury that CyberLife discontinuing production of your biocomponents would be a breach of your rights. He said no promises, he wants to meet and talk with both of you before he commits himself to the case. It's a big responsibility, and a big danger, taking on CyberLife like that. The fact that he's even willing to help you at all is a miracle." 

"Alright." Hank said. "When does he want to talk with us?" 

"He's on his way over now," Fowler started pacing again before turning to look to Connor. "This investigation is important, very important. But Harold Sonney is a sought after man and his time is worth a lot. Of course, I wouldn't want you to put the investigation on the line for it, but if you could speak with him before chasing down this lead, he'd probably be more willing to take your case. Otherwise, you might not get the chance to talk with him." 

Connor and Hank were silent for a minute. 

"How far away is he?" Connor asked finally. 

"He should be here any minute now." Fowler glanced down at his digital watch. 

"We'll speak with him briefly before moving on to pursue our lead," Connor decided. "However, I will not jeopardise the investigation over this issue with CyberLife." 

Fowler smiled a little fondly. "Wouldn't expect any less from you, Connor." 

Hank looked between the two of them, then stood up. "Alright, let's get going then. Connor, you need to start thinking about what you want to say. We haven't got long." 

"Thirty two minutes and forty six seconds." Connor provided. 

Hank rolled his eyes, heading for the door. "Thanks, Jeffrey." he called gruffly over his shoulder as he exited. 

"Any time." 

"I really appreciate your efforts to help me, Captain." Connor said as he stood. "I understand that not everyone here is welcoming to Androids and I'm grateful of your attempts to create an equal and fair workplace for both Androids and humans." 

"Uh huh." Fowler said, suppressing a smile. "You're one of us, too, Connor. You're always safe and welcome here, alright?" 

Connor nodded once, sharply. "Thank you, Captain." 

"Now get out of my goddamn office and get some work done." 

"Of course, Captain." Connor smiled to himself as he exited the office and went back over to where his and Hank's desks were. 

"So, what're you going to say?" Hank asked. 

"Well, I was going to be entirely honest about my situation and explain to Mister Sonney the risks of pursuing this investigation against CyberLife." 

Hank sighed heavily. "You know, that won't get you anywhere. You need to appeal to his humanity. He needs to see that you're a living being with emotions who's life is in danger." 

"I don't understand how-" 

"Lieutenant Anderson?" one of the station employees approached. "There's a Mr. Harold Sonney here to see you." 

"Yeah, send him in." Hank said. 

Connor stood up and sat down twice, before apparently becoming comfortable. Hank noticed that he'd pulled the coin out of his pocket and started playing with it. It was jus ta moment before Sonney walked in, escorted by two officers. 

Harold Sonney was a short man in his early thirties. He had medium-length, dirty blonde hair that he'd swept off a handsome and youthful face. His grey eyes scanned the precinct as he arrived - reminding Hank a little of the analytical approach Connor took to new situations - and finally rested on the two of them. He was a little overweight, like he enjoyed food perhaps a little more than was healthy, and dressed in an expensive-looking grey suit that seemed to exude his personality. He didn't seem overly self-important, merely comfortable and in control. As he approached the desks, he waved off the officers that had been escorting him and sat down, immediately taking papers out of his briefcase. 

"Lieutenant Anderson." Sonney said when he was settled. He glanced up at Hank, before putting his hand out for the Lieutenant to shake. Hank found his grip surprisingly firm for such an unassuming man. "And, you must be Connor." he turned to the Android with a broad smile, holding out his hand. Connor shook it enthusiastically. 

"Mister Sonney." Connor said brightly. "I've heard a lot of good things about your work." 

Sonney smiled a little more broadly. "I'll admit, working with Androids has been the highlight of my career. It's enjoyable to help those that need it the most." 

Connor nodded. "Your work is certainly admirable." 

"Likewise, I saw how you helped with the revolution. It was truly inspiring." 

Connor looked away, seeming a little shy. "I was just doing my bit to help." 

"I hate to cut short the small-talk." Hank cut in. "But me and Connor are in the middle of an important investigation and it's very time-sensitive, and I'm sure you're a busy man."

"Of course." Sonney said with an easy smile. "I completely understand. Let's get right into things. I have some quick questions for you, Connor, and it's really going to help me if you answer to the best of your ability." 

"I will do my best." Connor said. 

Sonney had already gotten out his notepad, seeming incredibly organised. He clicked the pen on and looked at the first sheet of paper in his notepad. "Can you tell me when you were first created?" 

"CyberLife spent two years creating my prototype, and I was brought online on the eighth of August, twenty thirty eight." 

Sonney noted that down. "Are there any other RK800 models?" 

"Not that I am aware of." 

"Are there any other RK-series models?" 

"As far as I am aware," Connor said. "It's just myself and Markus, who is an RK200 prototype." 

"Are your functioning bicomponents compatible?" 

Connor took a moment to process the question. "I do not believe so. Markus was designed to be a domestic Android, a gift from Elijah Kamski to a disabled human to provide help and companionship. For this reason, his biocomponents are broadly used by many models and thus are highly produced. I was created to have the most advanced and  high-tec biocomponents, which unfortunately means that no other Androids use them." 

"Okay," Sonney wrote quickly on the paper. Hank wondered idly why he didn't write on a computer or tablet, like most people did nowadays. "Do you know why CyberLife plan to stop production of your biocomponents?" 

Connor nodded. "Given that I am the only Android to use these biocomponents, it's not financially beneficial for them to continue production of my biocomponents, because there isn't a market for them. 

"How often are you injured in your line of duty?" 

"Quite regularly." Connor admitted. "Given that we often investigate Android-related crime, I am usually a target when myself and my partner are working." 

"Also, he's a stubborn bastard that throws himself at danger if he thinks it'll benefit the investigation." Hank added. "You can quote me on that." 

Sonney smiled a little, scribbling down another few words before looking up. "Is it fair to say, then, that often you need medical attention because you are helping humans enforce the law and keep Detroit safe?" 

"Certainly." 

"Have you had any clashes with CyberLife in the past?" 

Hank saw Connor's hesitation, and the way his LED flashed yellow. "Yes," the deviant said finally. "They were initially intent that I should hunt down and capture deviants to better understand them. This meant that when I myself became deviant, CyberLife were very disappointed and expressed that they were unhappy with me." 

Sonney nodded, leaning forward a little. "Is there any possibility that their decision to stop production of your biocomponents was fuelled by revenge for your betrayal?" 

"It's possible." Connor replied thoughtfully. "I'd never considered it before, but I could see it being a ruse used to strip me of my newly acquired free will."

"This is all very good, Connor." Sonney said, looking up at the Android with a bright smile. "Really. I was sceptical about taking on such a tough case, but given everything you've told me, I think I can build something really good out of this. Hm. We'll need to talk more, of course, before I actually file the law suit against CyberLife, but I think you can be hopeful for this." 

"So you're going to take the case?" Connor asked, cocking his head ever so slightly. 

"Yes," Sonney said energetically. "If you'll allow me. I'll have to have a proper contract written up and everything but... I think we've got something good here. We won't just sit by while CyberLife strips you of healthcare." 

"Thank you." Connor said, looking a little surprised, like he hadn't expected Sonney to actually help. 

"It's my pleasure." Sonney smiled genuinely as he stood, shaking both of their hands again. "I'll have the contract written up and printed for you. Best not to send it over digitally, given everything going on right now. And I'll have my assistant work out a time for us to have a follow up interview."

"Thank you." Connor repeated.

Sonney pulled his jacket on. "I'll leave you two to your investigating. If you need anything," he put a business card down on Hank's desk. "Don't hesitate to call me. Until next time." he nodded his head respectfully, gathered up the last of his things, and started walking away, glancing briefly at his watch as he did so. 

Hank smiled at Connor. "See? Things can go well. This is good, y'know." 

Connor watched Sonney leave, then turned to Hank with a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Perhaps you are right. We should really get going, we have five minutes and twelve seconds left to leave, otherwise we'll be late." 

"Of course," Hank said, following Connor as he marched out of the building. "You gonna tell me what's with all this secrecy?"

Connor shook his head. "Reighen seemed intent that everything was kept a secret until we were in a private place; I'll tell you everything when we're in the car."

"Alright," Hank said thoughtfully as the two of them headed to the car park. "Just how good is this lead, anyway?" 

"Well, if Reighen is telling the truth - which I'm inclined to believe he is - it could crack this whole case wide open." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise that the story is going a bit slow at the moment; I was actually surprised that I stuck with this story for so long and didn't keep notes or anything on it, which means that now I'm backtracking to connect the dots for y'all so everything makes more sense.   
> That being said, shit is 100% about to go down :) 
> 
> Anywho, as always I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to let me know what you think with kudos/comments! :) May your day be full of wonderfulness and cool Androids ^.^


	10. The Bad Doctor

_~~Software Instability~~ _

_Stress Levels: 5% and holding_

~~_Signs of deviancy detected_ ~~

~~_Seek assistance_ ~~

The message had given Connor a very specific place and time to meet Reighen.

It was now rapidly approaching that time - it was 14:57 - and Connor and Hank were waiting at the abandoned warehouse by the Detroit River. Judging by the size of the warehouse and the signs still readable on the rusted metal, Connor assumed that it used to be the base of a taxi business which had been forced out of business by the automated cars that now served as public transport. 

At exactly three o'clock, the two of them started hearing the sounds of a car approaching. Connor found himself stiffening, as though his joints weren't sufficiently lubricated, and he silently cursed these uncomfortable new emotions. 

The car was an older one, like the one that Hank drove. Connor suspected it even had a steering wheel, just looking at it. He resisted the urge to scan it to find out its make and model. The windows were tinted, and the car was slightly scratched and dented in places. As the car pulled up just in front of them, Connor could hear Doctor Reighen's classical music playing from inside and found himself clenching his jaw unnecessarily. He really didn't like that music. 

There was a moment of silence where the two of them waited patiently; Reighen got out of his car slowly, deliberately, his eyes taking in the warehouse around him. It occurred to Connor that the human was scanning the area, looking for anyone other than Hank and his partner. 

"Anybody else here?" Reighen asked, for once looking very serious. He licked his lips, pushed his greasy, dark hair off his face and approached the two of them cautiously. He was wearing the same clothes he'd been wearing last time he'd seen them (and judging by the identical stains, Connor worried that he hadn't even cleaned them), except that his apron had been left behind. He looked almost... scared, Connor thought. 

"Just us." Connor said. Reighen looked at him, giving Connor his full attention for just a moment. 

"Did anybody follow you?" 

"No." Hank said, looking irritated already. "Look, you asked us to come here so you could talk, so that's what we want you to do." 

"Inside." Reighen said, walking past the two of them and letting himself into the abandoned warehouse with a key that he'd produced from his pocket. 

"Don't trust him." Hank said quietly to Connor as the two of them followed him in. "I don't like this." 

Reighen closed and locked the door behind them, before leading them both over to an office at the back of the warehouse. When they got into the office, he locked the door to that, too. 

"You seem a touch paranoid." Hank said, raising an eyebrow. 

Reighen shook his head. "Not paranoid... _wise_." he muttered. "There are people out there that want to kill me." 

"Who?" Hank prompted. 

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Reighen laughed humorlessly, his eyes combing Connor up and down. 

"Start explaining from the beginning." Connor told him. Reighen sat down in the office's singular chair, looking tense and stressed. He put his head in his hands for a long moment, drawing in a deep breath through his mouth. When he looked up, he pushed the hair off his face again.

"It all started, as all awful things do, at CyberLife." he began, looking up at Connor, then turning to speak directly to Hank. "They tasked one of their programmers, Bryan Cardion, to come up with a virus that could be used to control the Android population. The idea was to come up with a weapon to use if anything such as the revolution happened again. We'd have control of all Androids, because if they did anything we didn't like, we could just eliminate them... it was only supposed to be a failsafe, a last resort. I never thought it would be used, you have to believe me-" 

"Try to keep your story linear, Doctor." Connor said. "It will help me process it." 

"Yes, of course. Cardion asked myself, my partner, and a hacker who he used to be friends with to help him out. We all made a team to create the virus, with the help of a few of CyberLife's Androids and..." he shuddered to himself. "I made the mistake of helping to create a new Android to help us with the tests. What I didn't know was that it was being programmed differently and controlled by someone else." 

"Stop beatin' around the bush." Hank said. "Names?" 

"Of course, of course." Reighen wrung his hands a little. "The team consisted of myself, Cardion, a hacker named Claire Riley, and my partner... Robert Caulray." 

Connor tilted his head. "The name sounds familiar. Have I met him before?" 

"I don't know." Reighen said, standing up and pacing, looking down at his hands. "The four of us were the only ones with access to the virus, and I believe one of them is using it as a weapon against Androids." 

"You're sure this is the virus that's been killing Androids?" Hank asked. 

Reighen stopped and looked at him seriously. "It certainly seems a lot like it. I haven't had a chance to see any of the victims up-close, but it seems like it could be our virus. Cardion's virus. The symptoms seem right, and given the way it's spread... whoever released it has been planning this for a while. Spreading it as widely as possible before activating it." 

"Do you know why the virus has been activated now?" Connor asked. "Are there any time constraints?" 

Reighen looked up at him briefly, then slumped back down into his chair. "We agreed to have a meeting the day the virus was released. One of the CyberLife Androids who we'd tested the virus on had escaped and attacked Caulray's office, then went to Cardion's home, where he and Claire were. It attacked all of them, and demanded that each rid it of the virus. Cardion managed to shut it down by activating the virus in its system. Worried about the intrusion, he demanded that we all meet up to discuss the potential of an outbreak." 

"The Android was an HK400?" Connor prompted. Reighen nodded, looking a little surprised. "There was another Android who was destroyed by the virus before the outbreak. She went by the given name Katie." 

"Yes, the AP700. Unfortunately, when we tested the virus on it, it was destroyed. We got rid of what was left but by that time the HK400 had turned deviant and fled." 

Connor felt that same energy in his body, those same instructions ordering him to punch Reighen as he had when Reed had started talking about Cole. He realised that his must be anger, that emotion that drove so many humans to do so many irrational things. For once, he didn't blame them for their irrational behaviour. 

Hank put a reassuring hand on Connor's arm, giving him a look that clearly said, "You good?". Connor just nodded and tried to distract himself from Reighen's insensitive words by counting the tiles on the walls. There were thirty eight. 

"Were there any other Androids?" Hank asked. 

"Just the one that we created." Reighen said. "Though, I believe that whoever released the virus did so by infecting a number of CyberLife's own Androids so that it would spread more effectively." 

"Is there a way to stop the virus?" Connor prompted, almost dreading the answer. Reighen's face twisted in indecision. 

"Potentially." he said. "I was looking through our files one day and I saw that one of the others were working on some kind of effective firewall that would be able to stop it. However, I don't know who was working on it and I never saw the complete project." 

"Would you be able to replicate the work?" 

Reighen considered it for a moment. "It's very complicated, even someone of my abilities wouldn't be able to-" 

"Is there any chance that any of the others wouldn't be able to do it?" Hank cut across. 

"Well..." Reighen sat in silent thought for a second. "Certainly... I don't imagine he'd be able to... and with  _that_ amount of experience." he mumbled to himself for a moment before looking up brightly at the two of them. "Well, I've narrowed it down to the best of my ability and the skills required to complete something like that would be something that only C-" 

He stopped speaking suddenly, and Connor and Hank stared, frozen, at the blood streaking down his perforated forehead. 

"I-" he tried again, but once more, nothing came out. Then, he slumped forward, face down on the desk with an ominous  _thud_. 

It took Connor just a quarter of a second too long to realise that Reighen had been shot, probably by a sniper, and was now what was medically known as  _very dead_. In that quarter of a second, there was the sound of wood splintering, and Connor's internal systems came up with a list of errors. He had enough sense to grab Hank by the arm and haul the human down to the floor as another shot came through the wooden door, aiming right for where Hank's head had been just a second before. 

_Damage sustained to right arm_

_Thirium 310 Levels: 94%_

_Non-fatal damage sustained to_   _appendage_

_Seek Assistance_

"You alright, Connor?" Hank asked hurriedly, drawing his gun as the two of them huddled behind the desk.

"I'm fine." Connor pressed his left hand to the Thirium leaking out of his arm. His circuits spasmed briefly at the intrusion on the fresh wound, but he ignored it. "I believe whoever is attacking us is using a high-powered sniper rifle." 

"No shit," Hank snapped. "You got a bead on 'em?" 

Connor glanced briefly above the desk and caught sight of movement out of the window before it shattered with another shot. "Catwalk, one floor up." he told Hank. "I believe there is only one assailant." 

Judging by the angle they were at, Connor decided that the shooter would have to move to be able to get a shot at either of them. 

"We can't stay here," Hank said. "We're sitting ducks." 

"I think it's safe to assume that our attacker is the person who betrayed Reighen and the others to release the virus." 

"Safe assumption." Hank peeked above the desk, his eyes tracing the catwalk, before he ducked back down. 

"And therefore they're not likely to leave us alive." Connor continued, gripping his arm. "I believe that our best option here is to flank the shooter and try to take them alive. If they die, we might never find out how to stop the virus." 

Hank nodded. "We got the window and the door." 

Connor calculated the odds for a moment. "You take the window, I'll take the door." 

"The door's locked, don't forget." 

"I'm much faster than you are," Connor peered over at the door that was right in the attacker's line of sight. "I'll move first, go to the door and unlock it. The attacker will be distracted by me and you can get through the window. There's a lot of cover on that side. You should be able to sneak up the shooter's flank and get a clear line of sight to them. I'll go the other side and attempt to distract them." 

"I don't know about this, Connor." Hank said, but the deviant was already getting ready to make a sprint for the door. Hank grabbed his good arm to attract his attention. "Be careful." 

"Lieutenant-" 

"Hey, don't argue with me!" Hank snapped. "Your biocomponents aren't replaceable anymore, remember?" 

Connor's eyes went a little wide as he properly realised that for the first time. If he got seriously hurt, that was it for him. He nodded at Hank, giving him a small smile that he hoped was somewhat comforting. "We'll both agree to not get killed, yes?" 

Hank smiled. "Of course, kid. Whenever you're ready." 

Connor peered above the desk, but could no longer see the shooter. He decided that they were probably moving around to get a better angle. He took a moment to compose his thought processes, before putting on a burst of speed and racing towards the door. He didn't even bother trying to unlock it, instead kicking it down in one swift movement as he heard Hank moving behind him. 

He rushed into the abandoned warehouse, feeling a shot skim his ankle, forcing him to tumble behind one of the desks. He looked down at the wound, but it was just a graze. Hank was crouching behind an old shelving unit on the left of the warehouse, with Connor on the right. Hank indicated over to the stairs on Connor's side that led up to the catwalk. It was clear what he was implying; Connor would make a break for the stairs, distracting the shooter so that Hank could move out of cover and try to take a shot at them. 

Connor braced himself for a sprinter's start, then pushed out of the cover with as much speed as he could muster. He heard a shot tear at the ground by his feet, but kept moving as fast as he could. He was at the bottom of the stairs when he heard the familiar and reassuring sound of Hank's handgun returning fire. Still trying to flank in case he could help Hank from up on the catwalk, Connor started up the stairs. The shooter was either distracted or neutralised, because no more shots found their way over to Connor. 

He was only four steps from the top when a figure detached from the shadows above and slammed into Connor with a considerable amount of weight. 

The two of them tumbled down the stairs and slumped in a heap at the bottom. The attacker was up before Connor, and the deviant struggled to regain his composure; he'd hit his head on the stairs and he was leaking Thirium. Connor felt strong hand - too strong to be human - grab him around the throat, fingers digging into the artificial skin. 

"Want to die now or later?" 

He felt one of the hands move to the Thirium Pump Regulator in his chest. He recalled the memory of when it had been torn out of him before, and felt fear twist inside him. 

"I- I don't want to." he managed, his voice modulators malfunctioning due to the pressure on his throat. 

There was a smile on his assailant's face and he felt the hand move away from his chest. Then, the attacker connected with Connor and he felt a rush of data flood his systems. 

_Optical Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Audio Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Sensory Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Thirium 310 Levels: UNSTABLE_

_Interfacing Systems MALFUNCTIONING_

_Communications Systems MALFUNCTIONING_

_Thirium Pump Regulator MALFUNCTIONING_

_CRITICAL DAMAGE to Major Biocomponents_

_Systems Shut Down: 00:00:43_

_Seek Assistance_

Connor somehow found the strength to push the attacker off of him, and the latter scrambled away, mostly unhurt. Connor's vision was fuzzy so he couldn't properly see the other, but he could just make out the writing on the Android's breast pocket: RK650c. 

The attacker smiled when Connor tried to kick them, and simple side-stepped the feeble attack. "You can feel it, can't you? Invading your systems, taking control, taking over. Don't worry. It will all be over very, very soon." 

_Systems Shut Down: 00:00:27_

"H-ank!" Connor tried to shout but his voice was weak and broken. His optical sensors gave in completely, and all he could see was blackness.

"Oh, he's not coming to help you," RK650c said with amusement. "I imagine by now he's not doing much better off than you are." 

"H..." Connor's vocal modulators were failing him. "Hank!" he managed, but this time it was no more than a whisper. 

_Systems Shut Down: 00:00:10_

"I - little disappointed, RK - ." the voice was now more static than words. " - Doctor Reighen - best creation - useless. Now... sleep." 

 ~~~~Connor could actually feel the Thirium slowing in his system, and no part of his body would respond to him any more. He finally slumped in defeat, his LED flickering red, yellow, and then settling on blue.

~~_Uploading Memory_ ~~

~~_Mission failed_ ~~

His LED shut off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully going to get the next chapter out to you straight away because it's quite short and mostly for flavour. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this one!! :)


	11. Malfunction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's really short (intentionally) and it's mostly just for flavour, which is why I'm posting it in quick succession to the last one; consider it just a little extra bit :)

_Optical Sensors MALFUNCTIONING_

_Audio Sensors MALFUNCTIONING_

_Sensory Input MALFUNCTIONING_

_Interfacing Systems MALFUNCTIONING_

_Communications Systems MALFUNCTIONING_

_Thirium Pump Regulator MALFUNCTIONING_

_Thirium 310 Levels: CRITICALLY LOW_

_MINOR DAMAGE to right arm, right ankle_

_CRITICAL DAMAGE to Major Biocomponents_

~~_Malicious Virus Detected_ ~~

~~~~Connor found himself waking up on the floor, feeling cold and weak. He wasn't aware of anything around him; all he knew was the cold floor beneath him and the endless errors in his systems. If there was sound, he didn't hear it. If there was anything to see, he didn't see it. It was just him and the floor, and his Thirium Pump Regulator working sluggishly to try to keep Thirium moving throughout his body.

_Attempting Self Repair_

_Self Repair Failed_

_Prioritising Function of Major Biocomponents_

_Minor Biocomponents Shutting Down_

_Filing Report to CyberLife_

_..._

_Report Failed_

_Seek Assistance_

He could suddenly feel the wetness. On his face and his clothes. That's what was making him cold, he decided, the damp clothes sticking to his body. Was he underwater? Out in the rain? He couldn't remember. Like most of his systems, his memory banks were corrupted by whatever had shut him down. Maybe he was in the rain, he liked the rain... maybe. What did the rain feel like?

_Function of Vital Biocomponents PRIORITISED_

_Thirium Pump Regulator Functioning at 28% Efficiency_

_Thirium 310 Levels: CRITICALLY LOW_

_Body Functionality: 8%_

_Low Power Mode Activated to Preserve Thirium_

_Complex Functions Restricted_

He was sure that there was something he needed to do. His mission. Had he been incapacitated fighting deviants? That would explain his current situation. That would explain the serious problems he was experiencing. It was a miracle he was even alive. Why  _was_ he alive?

_Thirium Pump Regulator Functioning at ^36% Efficiency_

_Thirium 310 Levels: CRITICALLY LOW_

_Body Functionality: ^10%_

_Low Power Mode Active_

_Attempting to Contact CyberLife_

_..._

_Communications Systems Offline_

_Seek Assistance_

Connor thought that he might have never been cold before. He didn't like it. It felt draining, like his body were not his own. Of course, that was partially true; whatever was shutting down his systems was taking over and making him cold. Oh, so cold. This wasn't good. He didn't like feeling cold. It made him... afraid. Afraid? Fear was a human emotion. He wasn't supposed to feel emotions.

_Signs of Deviancy Detected_

_..._

_Movement in Close Proximity_

_Prioritising Audio and Visual Sensors_

_Thirium Pump Regulator Functioning at 21% Efficiency_

_Thirium 310 Levels: CRITICALLY LOW_

_Body Functionality: 19.5%_

_Audio Sensors Restored_

_Attempting to Restore Functionality to Visual Sensors_

"- Christ, Connor. Hold on, help is on its way. You hearin' me, son? Hold on just a little bit longer, Connor. We're gonna get you all fixed up." 

The voice was gruff and grated on Connor's over-sensitive audio sensors. He wanted to flinch away from the loudness, but found the voice to be warm. Warm. Soothing. Everything would be okay. He was safe. He was going to be okay. 

_Visual Sensors MALFUNCTIONING_

_Thirium Pump Regulator Functioning at 17% and Declining_

_Thirium 310 Levels: CRITICALLY LOW_

_Body Functionality: 13%_

_Audio Sensors FUNCTIONAL_

_Thirium Pump Regulator CRITICALLY DAMAGED_

_Seek Assistance_

"Come on, Connor, they're almost here. Don't give up, not now. Hold on just a little while longer. P-please, Connor. I can't lose you too." 

The voice was hurt. Broken. Connor felt himself be lifted off the ground, but his body didn't respond, he was just limp. He was engulfed in warm, and he could hear the sound of strained breathing, and could feel a slight irregular pumping of a human heart against his side. He felt oddly... content. Safe. No. He dismissed the thought. Feeling things was deviant behaviour, and he wasn't a deviant. 

_Thirium Pump Regulator Functioning at 12% and Declining_

_Thirrrium 312 LevelS: CRITICALLY LOW_

_Systemems Shutdown: 01:32:12_

Cold, cold, cold. He wasn't supposed to feel cold so why was he so very, very cold? 

_Thiriummm Pump ReGULAtor functioning decling and 9% at_

_Levels 410: CRITICALLY LOW_

_SYSTFMJKMS ShUTDOwm: 03:198:901_

I'm a deviant. Perhaps deactivation is the best thing for me. CyberLife will just send a replacement that can complete the mission when I could not. I hope they can analyse me and make sure this doesn't happen again. I don't think I like being shut down. 

_Pudfrfesmp Thirium regULATojrw Functional 152% and deeclinging_

_Thadsfasirum 324: CRITICALLY LEVELS_

_SPKSIEMW HNOQDLKM: 00:00:21_

I am comfortable with dying if it means that the next RK800 can complete the mission. 

All that matters is the mission. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry (except I'm really not)! 
> 
> Gonna leave y'all with that cliffhanger for now; anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this little extra bit, and have a lovely day :D


	12. Let's Save Connor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the much awaited chapter 12... sorry about that last cliffhanger guys!! (I'm not really) 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter ^.^

Hank had thought that he was in bad shape. 

That's a pretty normal thing to think when you get beaten unconscious. 

He'd awoken with a groan, looking around for the person who'd attacked him. The sniper had fled, apparently, because it was just him in the warehouse as far as he could tell. Well, Connor was probably around here somewhere. 

Connor. Wasn't he supposed to be flanking the shooter so they could take them down together? Where the fuck had he gotten to?

"Connor?" he called, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. God, it hurt. Everything hurt. He definitely had a couple of busted ribs and a concussion. He wished he could diagnose himself the way Connor did. At least then he'd know if he was in immediate danger of dying. 

"Connor? Where the fuck are you?" he sat on the ground for a minute, taking deep breaths. His ribs really fucking hurt. Each breath aggravated the wounds and he found himself wincing. After a moment of silent encouragement to himself, he forced himself up onto his knees, then his feet. His head was swimming and he was sure he was swaying. He grabbed on a nearby shelf to hold himself upright, eyes scanning the ground for his gun. He finally spotted it, a few feet away, and went over to pick it up. 

Even those few steps were hard on him. He was sure he had bruises on every inch of his body. His legs threatened to give way underneath him, and he had to work hard to keep himself upright. He could feel the blood trickling at the back of his head that was making him feel so light-headed. He took another couple of lazy steps forward, shouting out, "Connor? Connor!" 

He was gonna beat that goddamn Android when he next saw him. Where had he been when Hank had needed him? He'd been dragging himself around the warehouse for two minutes before he finally found the body. 

Laying at the bottom of the stairs on the right side of the warehouse, completely still, was Connor. 

His face was impossible pale, the only colour the blue blood leaking out of his nose and the corner of his mouth. His hair was uncharacteristically messy, and his clothes were stained with yet more Thirium. God, that was a lot of blood. Parts of his artificial skin had disappeared, leaving patches of white plastic showing through, the most conspicuous of which was where his right eyebrow would usually be. His body was contorted uncomfortably, and he was curled up as though his instinct had told him to go into the fetal position. The worst part of it all, though, was his usually inquisitive and analytical brown eyes staring blankly, unseeingly, up at the ceiling. 

Hank stumbled forward, dropping to his knees by the Android in despair. He rolled Connor over slightly, and saw the LED at his temple blinking red  _ever so slowly._ Hank immediately got out his phone and called an ambulance. Would an ambulance be able to help him? He didn't know who else to call. CyberLife certainly wouldn't help him. 

He put his hands on either side of Connor's face and found it freezing cold on one side and searingly hot on the other. The deviant gave a small, almost imperceptible shudder and Hank fought down the lump forming in his throat. Suddenly, any concerns of his own injuries was gone. He was entirely focused on the young Android in front of him who seemed to be on death's door. 

"Jesus Christ, Connor," he found himself saying quietly. There was a slight break in his voice that he hoped Connor hadn't heard. "Hold on, help is on it's way. You hearin' me, son? Hold on just a little bit longer, Connor. We're gonna get you all fixed up." 

There was a flash of yellow in Connor's LED and he seemed to flinch. His face turned fiery hot all over and Hank withdrew his hands in pain. Connor blinked, just once, and there was a slight furrow in his brow. Hank realised that the blood soaking his clothes was coming from that mechanical heart thing in his chest. "Sorry, Connor." he said quietly and pulled the deviant's jacket off to get a better look at it. The Thirium Pump was flashing an angry red and oozing blue blood. Hank's own heart dropped to see it, and he grabbed Connor and pulled him closer. 

"Come on, Connor, they're almost here. Don't give up, not now. Hold on just a little while longer. P-please, Connor. I can't lose you too." 

He tried to ignore the tears he could feel on his face. He couldn't lose Connor. Not after everything they'd been through together. Hank would never have admitted it a month or so ago, but the Android was actually pleasant to be around, and Hank found himself becoming more and more attached to Connor the more time they spent together. 

There was an angry spurt of blood from the Pump, which started flashing more quickly. Hank held him even closer, ignoring the sharp pain it sent through his ribs, and brushed the hair off Connor's face, leaving a smear of blue blood behind. He was startled by the sudden temperature change in Connor's body; he'd been painfully hot just a few seconds ago, and now he was deadly cold, like a tin can left out in the snow. 

Hank watched in dismay as Connor's LED cycled from red down to an accepting, calm blue that contrasted with the colour of his Pump. His lips opened slightly more and he let out a small breath, still staring up at the ceiling. His Thirium Pump stopped spurting as much blood, then stopped functioning entirely, the LED circle powering down slowly. 

"No, Connor..." Hank buried his face in Connor's shoulder and found himself heaving sobs into the deviant's bloody clothes. 

How long did he sit there, crying on Connor? It was impossible to say. Minutes? Hours? All he knew was that he didn't have the strength to move. Not after everything Connor had gone through to feel, to finally accept himself as deviant. And it had all been ripped away from him. He'd worked so fucking hard to free himself from CyberLife and now... now he was dead. Now it was all gone, it was all wasted and worthless. Everything he went through, to end up here...

"Hank?" 

It was so quiet that at first Hank thought he must have imagined it. Surely. He couldn't bring himself to look up. Couldn't bring himself to feel the disappointment flooding through him like the alcohol he'd bury himself in later. He couldn't hope that Connor was fine because he remembered all too well the hope he'd felt when the nurses had told him that an Android was available to operate on Cole. After hours of his son hanging on by threads, anyone operating was a miracle. He'd dared to hope, which had made the grief even more crushing when Cole didn't pull through. 

"H-Hank?" 

No, he hadn't imagined it. He drew his head out of Connor's shoulder, trying not to hope that that word had just come from the deviant. 

But, no, Connor was alive. He was awake. His eyes were lazily scanning Hank's face, the patches of plastic that had been showing through healing over. His LED was still flashing red, though he looked strangely calm. 

"Connor?" 

A small smile tugged at the very corners of Connor's lips, as though he wanted to smile his bright, energetic smile, but was too tired. 

"You're alive." Hank said incredulously. 

"It would seem so." Connor looked as surprised as Hank. 

"What happened?" 

"I..." Connor frowned and his LED flashed yellow before returning to red. "I don't remember."

"It's okay. Stay still. Just rest."

"Many of my systems are offline." 

"It's okay." Hank said again. "Someone's on the way to help. Just stay still. You look like shit." 

Another small smile quirked Connor's lips. "I think I feel like shit." 

Hank found himself grinning despite himself. "Good to know." 

Another yellow flash of the LED. "I think my systems are going to briefly shut down to prioritise power for my..." he stopped and coughed violently, his whole body shaking with the force of each cough. He splattered Hank's jacket with blue with each convulsion. "Thirium... Pump... R... Reg..." Connor's eyes slowly drifted closed. 

"Connor, you still with me?" 

"Just... need..." Connor pressed his face closer into Hank's jacket, meaning the last word was muffled. "... Sleep..." 

"Okay," Hank said. He could hear the sound of sirens in the distance approaching their location. "Get some rest. And Connor?" 

"Hm." 

"If you ever do that to me again, I'll kill you myself. Got it?" 

"Yes Lieutenant." 

Connor's body went limp, his LED going a calm blue. Hank fought down the worry building inside him and just held Connor close to him as he waited for the ambulance to arrive. 

***

When the ambulance turned up, they'd initially been eager to take the two of them to a hospital, prioritising Hank's health over Connor's. However, Hank naturally insisted that they instead go somewhere where Connor could be helped. Eventually, the ambulance crew agreed to take Connor to a CyberLife Centre, though they fussed over Hank the entire journey. 

Hank batted them away, his attention focused on Connor. The ambulance crew weren't experienced in caring for Androids, and the best they could offer was a transfusion of blue blood. At least the kid didn't look quite so pale any more. He was laying on a gurney, his eyes closed and his body entirely still. It was disheartening to Hank, who was used to seeing the deviant breathing artificially to blend in. However, Connor's LED remained a restful blue the whole journey to the CyberLife Centre, and his Pump thing seemed to be working a little better than it had been. It had stopped spurting blood, too, which Hank took as a good sign. 

As they arrived at the CyberLife Centre, a couple of Androids came out to meet them, moving Connor quickly and efficiently onto a gurney. 

"I must insist we take you to the hospital now." one of the ambulance crew said pointedly to Hank. 

"Not a chance. I'm staying with him." 

The three of them looked at each other, then got back into the ambulance and went on their way. Hank followed the Androids wheeling Connor inside, his heart pounding in his chest. 

The centre had been transformed into a makeshift Android hospital. Sick Androids lay everywhere, some conscious, some completely still. There were a couple of dozen of them, just waiting around to die. It made Hank feel very uncomfortable. 

"What happened to him?" one of the Androids asked. 

"I don't know." Hank said. "I just found him like that. Is he going to be okay?" 

"Looks like the virus," the first Android said quietly to the second. "But given the state he's in, he should be non-functional." 

They talked quietly back and forth for a moment. Hank just stood beside Connor, watching the slight twitches in his face. Then, his limbs convulsed violently and blue blood oozed out of his Pump again. His eyelids fluttered and he let out a low, deep groan in the back of his throat. 

The Androids immediately stopped and turned to look at Connor. "What is-" one of them began, looking confused. 

"We need to get him to Elizabeth." the other cut across. They both grabbed a side of the gurney and started wheeling him off to one of the rooms at the back. Hank followed as briskly as he could. 

They knocked on the door, and they heard from inside, "Come in!" 

One of them opened the door to what looked like a hurriedly put together hospital room. The furniture in the room had been pushed messily to the side, and there was a bed in the middle with an Android on it. Expensive-looking equipment was dotted around the room, as well as two more Androids and a human woman. She was leaning over the Android on the bed, up to her wrists in blue blood, looking frazzled. 

"Pass me the spare biocomponent." she said hurriedly, holding out her hand to one of the Androids, who promptly placed a small, rectangular circuit in her free hand. Her other hand was pressed to an open compartment in the Android's chest. 

"Thirium Pump Regulator dropping to 48% efficiency." one of the Androids told her, looking at a monitor. "Survival rate is down to 12%." 

The woman didn't say anything, instead focusing her attention on the patient. She pulled a wire aside, inserted the spare biocomponent and started attaching it with rapid but careful hand movements. 

"Regulator down to 39%." the Android spoke again. "It's shutting down; it's not going to make it." 

"Put your hand here." she told the other Android. She obediently pressed her fingers where the woman was showing her. 

There was a leakage of blue blood that soaked into the bed beneath the patient, and she grabbed a wire from inside him and attached it to the new biocomponent. She stepped back, and there was a moment of deadly silence. Then, the Android reading the tablet said, "Thirium Pump Regulator back up to 60% efficiency. Android stabilising." 

The woman let out a long breath, wiping her forehead with her forearm. She finally turned to look at Hank, Connor, and the other two Androids in the doorway. "You two, take this one to a spare room." she said, patting the gurney with the sick android on it. The two that had wheeled Connor in moved the other Android out and disappeared down the hall. "Zed, Ecks. Bring him in." 

As the two Androids, Zed and Ecks, wheeled Connor in, the woman washed her hands in a sink at the back of the room (though it did little to remove the blood stains) and downed the last of a cup of coffee that was on the side. 

"Alright." she stepped forward. "What happened to him?" 

"I don't know." Hank admitted, edging a little closer. "I just found him like that." 

"Do you know him?" 

"Yeah, he's my partner. We work together." 

"Hm." she said, eyeing Connor thoughtfully. "Ecks, do a closed scan." 

The Android with the monitor pressed a few buttons, then scanned it over Connor. 

"You know his model and serial number?" the woman asked Hank absently. 

"He's an RK800." Hank replied. "I don't know what his serial number is." 

The woman frowned slightly. "I've never heard of the model RK800 before." 

"He's a prototype. His name's Connor." 

"Connor. Right." she glanced briefly up at Hank. "My name's Elizabeth, I'm the technician around here. I'll do my best to help him." 

Hank felt a small lump forming in his throat. "Thank you." 

"Scan complete." Ecks said. He frowned at the screen. "Looks like he's infected. But that can't be right. With the severity of the virus, he should be dead." Then he shot Hank an apologetic look, apparently feeling he'd not been sympathetic enough. 

"Okay." Elizabeth took a deep breath and brushed some hair out of her face. "Zed, Ecks, go and help the others out the front."

"But-" Zed began. 

"If you two catch the virus, there's nothing I can do." Elizabeth cut across, looking stern. "Now, please, go and help the others." 

The two Androids said nothing, but both of their LEDs whirred yellow as they exited the room. Elizabeth gestured Hank over. "Usually they help me but I can't risk them catching the virus. You want to help?" 

"Uh... sure." Hank said. "But I don't know shit about Androids." 

"That's fine," Elizabeth said. "Zed has corrupted memory files, she doesn't know much of anything." 

"Oh." Hank replied. 

Elizabeth looked over Connor, her eyes stopping on his Thirium Pump Regulator which was softly oozing Thirium still. "Alright." she said finally with a heavy sigh. "Let's save Connor." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have much to say here, except that I hope you're all enjoying the fic and have a wonderful day full of sunshine, rainbows and heavy metal. That is all. ^.^


	13. Authors note/update

Hi everyone, just wanted to give y’all a quick update since quite a lot of you are reading this fic.

Due to unforeseen medical reasons, I’m currently unable to write. I’m really sorry to leave everyone hanging like this, but I don’t know when I’m next going to be able to update this book. Hopefully I should be ok to do so in a couple of weeks or so but for now I won’t be adding any more to the fic. 

I really really really appreciate all the support you guys have been giving me on this fic, and although I haven’t had the chance to reply to comments at the moment, I am reading them and I just wanna say thank you guys for all the kind words/praise this fic has gotten. It really does mean the world to me and it brightens up my days. 

Anyhow, thanks for your support and your patience, you guys have been great!! ^.^ I hope everyone has an awesome day :) 

Love, Avery 


	14. Update 2

Hey everyone! Oh boy, it's been a hot minute hasn't it? 

First of all I just want to say that I really appreciate the support y'all are giving me. The last few weeks have been really rough and having people from all over that care about and support me, and want me to get better, is fucking crazy. I can't even explain how much of an impact it has had. It really does help to know that you all care about me, and it's really helped me. Like I said, these few weeks have been tough but I've had a lot of support irl as well as on here that makes me feel a whole lot better! 

With regards to my health, I'm still recovering but making good progress. Today I wrote again for the first time and although it was only a few hundred words, it was a step in the right direction and I'm hoping that in a week or two I can resume posting this fic for y'all because you all seem to be really enjoying it, and I want to give back to you lovely people for being so nice to me! It's honestly killing me not being able to write whenever I want so fingers crossed I can get back at it soon enough! I'm not putting down a deadline though, because that'll just stress me out more and my health is up and down like a yoyo at the moment.

Also, while you're all here, I thought it would be a cool idea for us to all get to know each other better!! I've never used AO3 before but I love this community already and I would really like to engage with you more! (I know a few people have asked if I have a tumblr, I don't but I might get one in the future, stay tuned for updates). So in light of friendships, learning more about each other and sharing positivity, I want to know from y'all in the comments (if you're comfortable): 

1\. Where you're from (don't give me your fkn address though just like country and/or town).

2\. Your favourite Detriot: Become Human character. 

3\. Your all-time favourite video game.

4\. One cool fact about yourself.

5\. One question for me to answer to you guys 

Obviously if you're not comfortable sharing that's completely okay, but while I'm unable to post, I want to still be able to to engage with everyone and learn more about each other because friendship and support is great. What I'll probably do is in a day or two read all the comments and post answers (?) as a chapter and respond to some of you guys' cool facts n stuff! I think that'd be easier than replying to comments individually because I don't necessarily like the way AO3 handles comments for the writer, though I guess that all depends on how many of you guys want to participate (I don't even know if any of you will be reading this, it's been so long since I updated this fic!) 

Anyways, as always my lovelies, much love and support!! Remember that you are important and regardless of how shite of a day you've had, you've made at least one person's day better and that's what's important. Have the greatest of days and remember to love one another :) 

Love, Avery ^.^ 


	15. Answering your questions (and just chatting a lot of shit)

Hullo everyone :) 

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. Nothing has made my last few days more than logging on here and getting to know more about you lovely people. Really! You're all incredible. There's people from all fucking over, mostly everyone likes Connor a lot and hot dayum you guys are a cool lot with some really cool but weird facts. I love this a whole lot, I love the responses I got, and I encourage you all to read the comments and find out more about each other :) Find other people who are also into the same stuff and from the same place as you! Friendship is great. 

I haven't had the chance to reply to each individual message but I have read them all because it was genuinely very interesting hearing from each and every one of you and I love finding out more about people. However, here are the answers to any and all questions I got, and I hope I'm interesting! :D 

 

**What's your favourite kind of fish? - dreamingKatfish**

I feel like you expect me to answer with the fish that Connor saves at the beginning of the game but I can't remember so I'm not going to cheat and look, so... I guess puffer fish are quite cool. Unless you're talking about eating fish then it's tuna. And my friend has a pet goldfish that their kid named Banana Salad that's pretty cool. 

**How are you at the time of answering these? - JayDee (BarelyExistent)**

Eh... okay, I guess. Tired. Been a long day of hard conversations, but I also managed to write a little and came online to see a billion awesome messages from a billion of you cool people so I can't say that's it been all bad :) 

**Mh... when did you start writing? - Hikari**

I started writing pretty much as soon as I could hold a pen. I remember being 7 or 8, sitting at my home PC and writing some really garbage stories about really abstract things. Twelve years later, I'm still doing just that :) But writing is one of the few things that have remained consistent in my life so I'm really grateful to have it.

**What’s your video game weakness? Good plot? Good characters? Specific kind of gameplay? - StardustAndAsh**

My video game weakness is probably... good plot. I'm a storyteller at heart, regardless of what form it's in, and I can't stand a game with a boring story. I can handle garbage gameplay and badly written characters as long as I love the story.

**Well, how about how did you come across Detroit: Become Human? Were you excited about the for a while, or just found out about it when it came out? - WolfanTerror**

Some of the first games I ever played when I seriously got into gaming were Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain. When I heard that Quantic Dream were putting out another game, I was so excited; then I saw the trailers 'n stuff and holy hot dayum did I want to play it. Been waiting for it forever lol. 

**I was just wondering what other fandoms are you in? - Brocco**

Oh boy, how long have we got? I was kind of all over the place in my early teens when I discovered reading, movies, tv shows and games (all of which I'd shown no interest in before) so I'm kind of in most fandoms that are aimed at a teen or young adult audience. Harry Potter, Sherlock, Life is Strange, Artemis Fowl, Doctor Who, all that jazz. I've calmed down a bit more and it's mostly gaming fandoms and Critical Role, which I adore with every fibre of my being.

**What is your favourite genre to read? - BearRegretsThis**

Oh man. It's been a while since I've been super into reading but mostly I used to read sci-fi/YA fiction. My favourites include (but are in no way limited to): Gone, H.I.V.E, Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson (and all of Uncle Rick's other mythology based series'), and The Martian. I've been into comics more lately and I've been reading Bitch Planet and Spider-Man which is an interesting change of pace :) 

**Criticisms for dbh? - boygothic**

There's a lot. I'm not the kind of person to say that anything is perfect. Even my favourite game of all time I have plenty of criticisms for. In regards to DBH I would say my biggest critisms are the heavy-handiness of the imagery and metaphors (such as Connor's coin facing liberty in literally the first fkn shot) and that I found a lot of the characters to be unenjoyable, and I didn't really care what happened to them. Also it kind of bugs me that we never actually find out more about RA9, which I think Quantic Dream did on purpose to give the player the choice of what/who they thought RA9 was, but it just felt too open-ended for me. 

**Aside from the main three, who's your favourite dbh character? - Doggoos**

Probably Hank & Sumo (they come as one) or Carl. I'm a sucker for the older, gruff father-like figure (See Joel from The Last of Us or Booker from Bioshock Infinite) because they remind me of my dad who's just the coolest person in existence. Overall, I think they're both well-rounded and interesting characters, and I genuinely cared for their safety. 

**This isn't really a question, I am not good at just coming up with them, but I want to say I love your story and am glad you're getting better! :) - Vail_of_Iron**

Thank you anyway :) I'm not really good at coming up with questions either, don't worry. 

**How do you feel about the potential of androids and intelligent AI in our forseeable future? Do you think that people would be so opposed to them as in DBH or that if they were equiped with the Three Laws of Robotics it might have turned out differently? - KaroBakU**

I don't know what the Three Laws of Robotics is, give me a moment...okay I have actually heard that before I'm sure. 

I think Androids and AI really aren't too far off. I mean most of us have an AI in our phones or in our homes; just look at the shit that Alexa can do, it's crazy. I think people would definitely not be happy with androids, like in DBH, because people fear what they don't know and feel threatened by it. I mean, there are people out there who literally hate another person because the colour of their skin or who they want to date. I don't see a future where humans and androids would live completely in harmony because humans are assholes (present company excluded). I think the androids in DBH were originally equipped with the Three Laws of Robotics but deviancy changed their outlook and what they physically could or could not do. 

**What inspired you to write this fic? - virtualfox**

I went on a bit of a hiatus from writing (and certainly posting it online) for several years, and then my health problems came along and made me refocus on what's important to me. I kind of had to go back to basics with writing because it had been so long, so I started writing a Critical Role fic. Then drabbles. Eventually, I felt that DBH was something that could get me back into writing (especially writing online) and my two favourite boys really inspired me to get back into writing and want to tell great stories. 

**How did you get the idea to write this story? - Twixie901**

I was reading a lot of fanfic every night before bed and I came across a lot of fics where Connor would get sick/feel pain/be generally off balance that really intrigued me. I liked the idea of an Android who's supposed to be perfect suffering the most human thing - being sick. I didn't want to just go with 'okay so androids can get sick now that they're deviant' so I came up with the idea that the sickness comes from a computer virus, which an android could very easily contract. The idea quickly grew, and I realised a virus like this would be able to spread fast, so I began mapping out the fic from there. 

**How are you feeling at the moment? Getting better? - Helen**

Meh, getting there. At the moment, it's a lot of ups and downs. One minute I think I'm better, the next my body decides to prove me wrong. I had a really rough day yesterday so today I've just been chilling out and recovering... overall it's been a good day but I'm tired :) 

  **What’s your all time favourite movie? - MaddyMaree**

Ughhh don't do this to me!! I don't know if I have an all-time favourite but some of my favourites are The Imitation Game, Freeheld, Hacksaw Ridge, Trainspotting, Sweet Sixteen, and The Avengers. I kind of became a massive film nerd in college because I took Film Studies as one of my A-Levels and I loved it to pieces. My favourite film of this year so far is probably I, Tonya - if you haven't seen it, go treat yourself. It's incredible. 

**Whats your favorite toothpaste flavor? -ThunderWolf2456**

I'm not really into exotic toothpastes (on the list of things I never thought I'd write)? I don't know if this is a British thing but like 95% of toothpastes I've come across are just mint. I tend to just go with whatever I fancy at the time and that's that. Though watermelon flavour toothpaste sounds fucking great!!! I might need to look into getting some of that.

**What got you interested in writing fanfiction? - LyricsofVixra**

Well, it's quite the story. I started writing fanfic when I was about 12/13 and I was big into the Artemis Fowl community on Wattpad. I then moved over to writing A LOT of original fiction that I really enjoyed. When I got to about 17/18 my health problems started and they kind of stopped me from writing. I wanted to get back into it recently but I kind of felt like a newbie at it all over again; since I find writing fanfic a lot easier and less stressful, I decided to write some more of that to ease me back in. 

**What your favourite line you've ever written? Like either dialogue or narrative - AgentAW**

Oh man that's a question and a half!! Um... let me think for a minute. A strong contender is "I'm a person in the same way mash is a potato" from a piece called  _Mash Potato_ that I wrote last year. I like that it has a lot of meaning when you think about it more. I also like "A story untold is a world wasted" from _The Train_ and "Give me a story, give me an escape, give me a whole new world, give me an imperfect life." from  _It Would Be Counter-Productive to Title This_. I like those because they're both about storytelling, which is very important to me.

Lastly, "The black mucus coats every surface like it crawled its way out of the oesophagus of Satan himself to claim the space as its own. It breathes softly with each breath of my own, in and out, pulsating with each convulsion of my heart. The spiderweb of sticky black ink seems to spread in blotches and slings, covering everything, suffocating the room, holding it in place with a few whispered hushes." from  _Tick Tock_. (that one's a bit longer but I'm really happy with the piece as a whole). This one was about my anxiety, which was particularly prominent at the time, and it was around this time that I realised that writing about it made me feel better. 

(sorry for the long response lol I'm super happy with a lot of the short stories and stuff I've written.)

**Do you have any pets, if so what are they’re names/name? - penguinfan28**

I don't have any pets per se, I've kind of adopted my sister's cat, Zilla, but I've moved out now so I don't get to see her as often :( But she's great and we have lots of long conversations and between you and me, I use pet names for her like "love" and "sweetheart" which I'd probably not ever do for a human. 

**It makes me sad that you are unwell and it makes me curious of what it is? What your illness is? If you're uncomfortable answering that you definitely don't have to, I'm just wondering if one of us gotta donate one of our kidneys already - HeIsSoBlue**

Ahahaha nobody needs to donate any kidneys, though I appreciate the sentiment. I don't want to say too much because it's very personal but it's mental health related (though it has severe effect on my physical health), it's something that I've had problems with for a number of years now, and currently it's worse than it's ever been. I'm comfortable saying that part of it is a serious bout of anxiety, though that's not the main problem. But like I said, I'm on the road to recovery and hopefully in a few weeks I'll be feeling better :) 

****This is my favorite fic! What about writing do you like?!?!?!! Like in general, what do you like about writing? Like enough to write fanfic?  - Sugarblob** **

There's a lot of things about writing that I just love. When I'm planning, I love writing cool and interesting characters. I like thinking about a person's individual motives and how they got to where they are and all the little things that make a person a person. Moreover, when I'm actually writing it, I love the sensation of getting lost in fiction and being able to tell great stories. I love being able to write something that makes somebody feel or certain way (whether positive or negative) and being able to share what's going on in my head with the world. It's been a while since I've posted online, and I've never received such a positive response, so it's nice to experience the audience interaction and see people genuinely enjoying what I'm writing. Just everything about writing is just amazing to me, and it remains to be one of the most important parts of my life. 

**What is something that fills you with deep nostalgia? - DistillanceFlake**

That's actually a really good question. I would say probably the smell of cut grass. It reminds me of when I was seven or eight years old and I was in school in my hometown, and during breaks me and my friends would go and sit on the field and soak in the sun and the smell of cut grass. I miss that town and that school a lot so the smell of cut grass puts me back there all the time. 

**What are some of your goals for the remainder of 2018? - ALPineDreamer623**

Um.... I don't really know. At the moment I'm just kind of taking each day as it comes. I would say to make a decent recovery and properly get back into writing are my two main goals. I'm not really at a point in my life where I feel like I need to make lots of goals for the future; I'm happy with my job, I'm happy where I live, and I'm happy with my family. The biggest negative factors in my life right now are my health and that I wish I were more into writing. So, yeah. They're my goals. Got five more months to get through them :)  

**Do you remember the first story you wrote because you wanted to (not as an assignment or a school project)? If so, what was it about? - Sheska**

Um, yeah, I kind of do actually. It was some over the top action-y thing where a family went camping, and one of the kids fell in the river and almost drowned. It was very dramatic. I was probably no older than seven or eight at the time. 

**What is your dream job? - Pinxku**

I'd love to work on video games as a creative director or writer. Unfortunately with games you kind of have to work from the bottom up and start in sound or animation or something and I have none of the necessary talent. Other than that, the dream would be to become a writer; something I've wanted as a job for as long as I can remember. I just love writing and it's one of the few things that I could see myself working in passionately. 

**What's your favorite D:BH fic? - elsiepedee**

Oh man that's a good one. I haven't really been reading too much recently and I come across a lot of Hank/Connor with I avoid because I don't ship it. So I don't really know. I've come across a few really good one shots though that I really enjoy. I've been trying to get back into fic the last couple of days though but I've mostly been reading Critical Role stuff. 

**How do you feel about rain? - Crazy_Rabid_Squirrel**

I love the rain. Being out in it can be a bit sucky sometimes but I enjoy listening to it. It helps me sleep when I'm struggling and it inspires me to write. When I'm at home late at night and I can hear it raining, the first thing I want to do is make a cup of tea, then curl up with my laptop and write something spectacular. It's very calming and relaxing. 

**Besides DBH - what is your favorite game? - Asphodelic**

DBH isn't actually my favourite game. My favourite game of all time is The Last of Us. I could honestly write an essay on why I love it so much, but in essence it's an exercise in great storytelling, character development and a good example of how video games can be so much more than they are portrayed as by the media. I have two TLOU themed tattoos that I love, and it just inspires me to want to write amazing characters and interesting stories. Besides that, it also has pretty decent gameplay and Naughty Dog are (in my humble opinion) the best game developers out there. So, yeah, in a nutshell... The Last of Us is my bae. 

**My question for you is have you ever seen Over the Garden Wall?  - DragonsNest**

I haven't actually, let me look it up... it looks quite interesting, I might have to put that on my (very long) list of things to watch. And I like the art style, it kind of reminds me a little bit of Don't Starve Together. Yeah, I wanna watch that. It looks bizarre and interesting in the best way possible :) 

**Maybe how you got into the Detroit: Become Human fandom? - GreatestTheAuthor**

I really enjoyed Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain so I was super excited for DBH to come out, I'm a big fan of Quantic Dream and their storytelling. I kind of go through periods of obsessing over things so after I played it, I played it again and started really getting into the fandom. I don't really read too much regularly so I read a lot of one-shot fanfic and stuff before I go to bed to help me chill out and just really got into it :) I'm glad I am, because it's honestly a great fandom and it's interesting to see the different decisions people have made with regards to playing the games and opinions of characters n stuff. 

**Not sure if asked before, do you have any pets? - Swanfelflowers**

It has been asked before but I'm not going to ignore it; I've kind of half adopted my sister's cat Zilla but I don't have any pets of my own. I'm going to ask my flatmate if I can get a hedgehog though. I wants me a hedgehog, they're the cutest. 

**What is your Zodiac sign? Mine is Cancer. - Lex**

Mine's Libra, I'm an October baby. Don't know if I act like a Libra, but w/e. Fun fact, though: I've only ever dated Leos. And it happened by accident and I can't explain it but that's just how it is. Maybe Leos are my type  ~~shrug~~. 

 

I think that's a good place to leave it! That was a lot of questions to answer and if you stuck around to read them all then I guess you know my life story now?! Anyway it's been really fun getting to know you all and I really have enjoyed this interaction... maybe I'll do more in the future if there's going to be a wait between chapters or whatever, and it's something you guys want to see (let me know)!!

Regardless, as always I hope you're all having the greatest of days, love one another, and never forget that otters hold hands (paws?) while they sleep so that they don't drift away. 

Love, Avery.


	16. Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow hello everyone.   
> I know y'all probably just wanna read the chapter so I'll leave all the essays till the end notes. 
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy the much-anticipated Chapter 16 ^.^

Hank was exhausted. 

He and Elizabeth worked on Connor for the better part of five hours. When the rush of adrenaline wore off about half an hour in, Hank started to feel the pain of his own wounds, feeling each bruise on his body. By the four hour mark, he could barely stay on his feet. When Elizabeth finally announced that there was nothing else they could do for Connor, Hank slumped down in a chair and almost passed out right there.

"He's going to need a new Thirium Pump." Elizabeth said, scrolling on a tablet as she looked over Connor. "That one'll keep him going for another few weeks, provided he isn't under too much stress. But it  _will_ need replacing." 

"You sure you can't fix up that one?" Hank asked, remembering CyberLife's threats. 

A small smile appeared on Elizabeth's face. "I'm glad you have faith in my abilities, but that's far beyond me." 

"Other than that, is he going to be okay?"

She looked up and for the first time, Hank saw the exhaustion on her own face. He wondered idly how long she'd been operating on the Android who'd been in here before Connor. When was the last time she'd slept?

"I don't know." she replied earnestly, sitting down on a seat opposite Hank. "I've never seen a case of the virus like this one. It's like he's infected but his systems are... adapting, to fight it. Mostly, the virus just shuts down an Android's major biocomponents until they can't function. But Connor is repairing himself almost as fast as the virus is destroying things. It's hard to explain." 

"Like antibodies?" 

Elizabeth smiled at the comparison. "Yes, I suppose so. Something in Connor is actively fighting the virus, repairing things it breaks, stopping it from advancing. His Thirium Pump Regulator shut down twice due to the virus, and both times his systems managed to reboost it. It's quite incredible."

"He is." Hank agreed. "So... the virus is gone now, then?" 

Her face fell. "No, I'm afraid not." she looked a little disheartened. "Connor's fighting it, but it's wearing him down, bit by bit. The more it destroys, the harder it will be for him to fight it. He has maybe a week - a week and a half at most - until it completely shuts him down." 

"And there's nothing else you can do?" Hank said desperately. 

She shook her head silently.

Hank felt grief and pain wash over him. God, he was stupid. He'd dared to hope that Connor was going to be okay when he'd woken up and talked to Hank. Now, it was clear that there was no happy ending for him. Certainly not one that involved having a family. 

"I don't know if it's much of a consolation," Elizabeth said quietly, meeting Hank's gaze. "But the data I collected while restoring him could be imperative to finding a way to slow the virus. If I can find a way to replicate the coding that's fighting the virus in Connor, it will give hundreds - thousands - of Androids more time, a chance to say goodbye. Hopefully it'll buy us time to find a cure." 

Hank nodded. "It doesn't make me feel any better, but I'm sure it'll make him happy." 

Elizabeth took a box of cigarettes out of her pocket. "You mind?" 

"No, go for it." Hank replied. She lit one and opened a window, taking a deep drag of it.

"You care about him a lot, don't you?" 

Hank just nodded. 

"It's nice to see. Most of the Androids who came here before the virus broke out had been beaten and abused by humans." she slumped in her chair for a moment, and Hank saw a flash of somebody who was exhausted emotionally as well as physically. "It's hard to see. After the revolution, they thought they'd be free. World's still full of prejudice." 

"Well, people will always find something to kill each other over." Hank said quietly. "I used to hate Androids, you know." 

"What made you change your mind?" 

"That goddamn idiot." he gestured vaguely to Connor on the table. "I saw the humanity in him. The happiness, the sadness, the empathy, the compassion. He was supposed to stop deviants, but somewhere along the way he became one of them. He showed me that Androids were capable of more than they were created to be." 

"He certainly seems special." 

"What about your two Androids?" 

"Ecks and Zed?" Elizabeth looked a little surprised. "They're not  _mine_. They were both assaulted by humans and left to die. I brought them in and helped them back to health. They decided to stay to help me. Like I said, Zed is a bit slow, and Ecks doesn't have the best motor functions, but they both do what they can to help. It must be hard on them, seeing all the abused Androids come in. So many of them don't make it. There's only so much I can do." 

There was a knock on the door and a moment later, Ecks opened it and poked his head in. "Elizabeth, we've got another one." he said. "An AP700, hit by a car. She's in pretty bad shape." 

"Alright." she got up and stubbed out the cigarette, then went over to the sink to wash her hands. Hank was suddenly all too aware of Connor's blood all over his own hands. "Zed and Ecks will take him to one of the recovery rooms," she told Hank. "I'll send someone over in a few hours to check up on him. He should wake up soon. As long as he's alright when he wakes, he's free to go." 

"Thank you," Hank said earnestly, not sure how to find more words to express his gratitude.

"It's alright," Elizabeth said. She pulled out a business card and handed it over to Hank. "Listen, if anything else goes wrong, let me know, okay?" 

"Sure." Hank said. "If you need anything else to help the others, you let us know too. Call the DCPD and ask for Lieutenant Anderson." 

She nodded. A moment later, Ecks and Zed came in and started wheeling Connor out. 

"Thank you." Hank said again as he followed the gurney out. Elizabeth just nodded and Hank watched as the next Android was wheeled in.

***

_Systems Startup Initiated_

_Startup: 1%_

_Optical Sensors RESTORED_

_Audio Sensors RESTORED_

_Sensory Input RESTORED_

_Interfacing Systems MALFUNCTIONING_

_Communications Systems PARTIALLY RESTORED_

_Memory Banks PARTIALLY RESTORED_

_Memory Data CORRUPTED_

_Thirium Pump Regulator PARTIALLY RESTORED_

_Thirium 310 Levels: 80%_

_Attempting Self Repair of Non-Critical Damage to right arm, right ankle_

_Self Repair Complete_

_Startup: 87%_

_Starting Full Systems Scan_

_..._

_Scan Complete_

_Software Instability_

_Malicious Virus Detected_

_Signs of Deviancy Detected_

_Thirium Pump Regulator Functioning at 72% Efficiency_

_Thirium Pump Regulator Sustained MINOR DAMAGE_

_Thirium 310 Levels: 80%_

_Body Functionality: 59%_

_Prioritising Function of Major Biocomponents_

_Complex Functions Restricted_

_Filing a Report to CyberLife_

_..._

_Communications Systems not Functioning Adequately_

_Seek Assistance_

_..._

_Startup: 99%_

When Connor opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at a plain, almost painfully white ceiling. He found himself tracing the patterns of the ceiling with his eyes as he waited for the last few systems to come online. Feeling started slowly returning to his body, and he was aware that he was lying on something soft and warm. He was aware of the ever so slightly irregular thrumming of his Thirium Pump Regulator, and the sounds of breathing. His own, unnecessary breaths, and another person's. A human's, judging by how shallow and irregular they were. Androids usually breathed evenly or didn't breathe. 

Connor found control of his motor functions and managed to turn his head to the side. Sitting beside the bed was a human man, who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, his head drooping onto his chest. Connor scanned him almost instinctively. 

_Lt. Anderson, Hank_

_Born 09/06/1985 // Police Lieutenant_

_Criminal record: None_

The human had apparently sustained damage to three of his ribs, his back, his head, and his left arm. That was the reason for the irregularity of his breathing; he was hurt. Connor tried to reconstruct the fight that had wounded the man but found that his functions were too limited. 

The man's clothes, Connor noticed, were covered in blue blood. It perhaps wasn't too much of a stretch - given his current condition - to assume that the blood was his own. There was a lot of it on Lieutenant Anderson... enough that if it had been his blood, he should be dead. Maybe it wasn't his blood after all, maybe it had come from another Android. 

The room Connor was in was sparse. It was just him, the human, the bed and the chair. 

Connor examined his own body. He was shirtless, revealing his Thirium Pump Regulator, which glowed softly red. His chest was covered in dried Thirium, most of which had faded out of the visual spectrum, but he could still see it. There was what looked like a gunshot wound in his right arm that was still healing over. His pants were also covered in alarming amounts of Thirium. He'd apparently been administered some more, because he was in no danger of blood loss. 

He tested his minor motor functions; fingers clenching, eyes blinking, toes wriggling, mouth chewing air. Next, he tried the more major motor functions; he sat up, moved his arms, folded his legs up and turned his head left and right. Everything seemed to be in order. There was perhaps a small delay between input commands and output reactions but that was probably a result of the reboot. 

"Connor?" 

He found himself startled by the human - Lieutenant Anderson - who was now staring at him with a strange expression. Connor took in the slightly downturned brow, the set of his mouth and slight tilt to his head and realised this must be concern. 

"Hello Lieutenant Anderson." he said automatically. "I'm Connor, the Android sent by CyberLife." 

"I know." Hank replied, looking confused now. "You get your head all scrambled up, kid?" 

Connor tilted his head to the side as he tried to check his memory banks.

_Memory Banks PARTIALLY RESTORED_

_Memory Data CORRUPTED_

"I'm afraid that my memory has been corrupted. I apologise for any inconvenience this causes. I will be able to upload the data but it will take me a considerable amount of time. It will be made much easier if you could call a CyberLife technician." 

Lieutenant Anderson became quiet for a moment. "Connor, CyberLife probably aren't going to be willing to help you. What do you remember?" 

"Waking up just now." 

"And nothing before that?" 

The Deviant shook his head. "Do I know you?" 

The human was silent for a moment, thinking hard. Connor found himself looking around for his shirt, a little uncomfortable being able to see the dried thirium on his chest. 

"Yeah." Anderson finally spoke, looking up at Connor. "We're partners. How long will it take you to upload your memory?" 

Connor tilted his head again and did a systems scan. "Judging by my current limit to functionality, I would say at least forty eight hours to fully upload the memory, provided I am not interrupted." he leaned forward. "Would you be able to tell me what happened?" 

"You were infected with a virus," the Lieutenant said. "Almost killed you. You're lucky to be alive." 

"I'm not technically alive." Connor corrected automatically. "I'm a machine."

_WARNING: Signs of Deviancy detected_

_Seek Assistance_

He frowned. "Saying that made me... uncomfortable." 

"Yeah... it's a long story." the human said quietly. "You'll figure it out when you get your memory back." 

Connor thought about it for a moment. "Okay." he decided. "My Thirium Pump Regulator is not functioning adequately, would you be able to contact CyberLife to acquire a new one." 

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen, kid." Lieutenant Anderson said. "You kind of had a fall out with them." 

The Android frowned. "With... CyberLife? This is problematic. I should notify-" and then he frowned deeper and stared off into the middle distance. 

"C'mon, let's get you home." the human said finally. "You can get your memories back and we can go from there." 

"Home?" 

Lieutenant Anderson sighed heavily. "Yeah, home. Sumo'll be... well, you don't remember Sumo but he'll be happy to see you." 

"Sumo." Connor tilted his head, his LED whirring yellow. "I don't recall who Sumo is, but the name makes me feel... warm." 

"Good. Can you stand?" 

Connor slowly put his legs over the side of the bed. He felt a little weak - probably due to the slight lack of Thirium and the virus that Lieutenant Anderson had mentioned - but managed to stand up without falling over. His systems were working overdrive to compensate for the additional strain. 

The door to the room opened and a dark-skinned man with medium-length dreadlocks walked in. He looked a bit battered, covered in small scars that hadn't fully been healed. Connor scanned the man but found him to be an Android. He frowned, wondering why the Android didn't have an LED and wasn't wearing his CyberLife uniform. He was dressed casually in a pair of baggy cargo shorts, a blue plaid shirt, his hands covered by latex gloves. 

"Connor." he blinked twice. "You're up." he looked down at a tablet in his hands. "Sorry, I thought you'd be out for another thirty six minutes at least. I'm Ecks. How are you feeling?" 

"Are you a Deviant?" Connor asked abruptly. 

Ecks glanced up, his dreads swinging with the movement. "I am. Is that a problem for you?" 

Connor felt his muscles tense. Deviancy. He was supposed to be fighting deviancy. 

"It's alright." Lieutenant Anderson said, putting a heavy hand on Connor's shoulder. "He's having some, uh,  _memory problems_."

"Oh." Ecks said. "Don't remember the revolution?" 

"No. I don't remember anything." 

"Okay, that's a bit of a problem." Ecks typed something in on his tablet. "Other than that, how are you feeling?" 

Connor considered it for a moment. "My Thirium levels are at 80%, my body functionality is at 72% and my Thirium Pump Regulator is functioning at 74.8%." 

"Okay... and how do you feel in yourself?" 

"I-" Connor looked briefly at the Lieutenant. "I'm not sure I understand." 

"I think this is a part of the memory problem." Lieutenant Anderson said. 

Ecks made another note, before sitting down on the bed and eyeing Connor up and down. "Alright. All the scans say you're good to go. You have somewhere you can go and rest for a bit?" 

"He's coming home with me." the human said before Connor could answer. 

"I'm going with Lieutenant Anderson." he confirmed. 

"Call me Hank." 

"I'm going with Hank." Connor corrected. 

Ecks nodded. "You have Elizabeth's number if anything goes wrong?" he asked Hank, who nodded in response. "If he has any more problems or you have any questions, let us know straight away." 

"I will." Hank replied. "And tell Elizabeth she can contact us if she needs to do anymore data, or tests, or whatever." 

"I'll pass on the message." Ecks said. "Alright, Connor, you're free to go." 

"Thank you." Connor looked to Hank. "Lead the way, Lieutenant." 

"Right. Yeah." Hank said, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on. "Hope you're feeling better, 'cause we got an ambulance here so we're walking back."

"I feel fine, Lieutenant." Connor assured the man, pushing down the conflicted feelings building inside himself. He shook Ecks' hand, still uneasy, and followed Lieutenant Anderson outside, a hundred and seventy three unanswered questions racing through his mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm back? Ish? :)  
> Admittedly at the moment I'm still not doing great but I'm going to try to post at least once a week. I can't guarantee any regular schedule but it was driving me mad not being able to write, so I'm back at it (sorry if it's not entirely up to par with my usual).   
> I don't really know how to express (and I have a very vast vocabulary) how much you guys' support has really helped me over the past few weeks. Honestly, y'all are such amazing and kind people, it's an honour to have you reading my fic <3 I'm not usually a mushy person but all of you really do mean a lot to me and I really appreciate having y'all by my side through this. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you all have the loveliest of days, be kind to one another, and as Joel from The Last of Us once said, "No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for." Love you all ^.^ <3


	17. Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!   
> Bet you didn't expect to see me again, huh?  
> I'll let you read this very very very short and almost entirely unedited chapter, and catch you up at the end.
> 
> *READ THE END IT'S VAGUELY IMPORTANT YO*

The walk back to Hank's house was mostly made in silence. Connor seemed to be working on recovering his memories, and Hank himself was lost in thought with everything that had happened in the last day. Not to mention that he himself was still in a lot of pain from the injuries he'd sustained during the fight. He decided that when he'd settled Connor in at home, he would go to the office to see what was uncovered about the crime scene. 

He was, understandably, worried about Connor. Now that the Android's life was on the line, it was even more important that Connor's lawyer, Sonney, managed to get CyberLife to co-operate. Of course, the virus would shut Connor down before he needed a new Thirium Pump Regulator, so their best bet was probably to figure out who had spread the virus and find a way to stop it. 

By the time they got home, Connor looked tired. It wasn't a look Hank was used to on him, but there was no mistaking the slumping shoulders and downcast eyes. Androids weren't supposed to get tired, though, so this look on Connor was even more concerning. 

However, that changed the instant that Sumo came bounding up to his Deviant. 

Connor's face broke out into a wide grin as the St. Bernard tackled him to the floor and licked his face excitedly. There was no mistaking the instant joy on the Deviant's face, his eyes lighting up and a small laugh escaping his lips. His hands immediately burrowed themselves in Sumo's fur and he gave the dog all the attention that he loved. 

"This is - Sumo." Connor said between excited laughter. 

"Yeah, he's our dog." Hank said, stepping over the pair and heading towards the kitchen. "You want to take him for a walk?" 

 Connor stood up and brushed off some of the dog's fur that now coated him. "I think I would like that, as long as you don't have any concerns-" 

"Course not." Hank replied. "You might not remember, but you used to take him out for a walk every day. Hell, sometimes twice a day. Go for it." 

Connor's face split into another grin. "Thank you, Lieutenant." 

"Uh huh. Just don't wear him out too much, alright? He's an old dog." 

"I'll be careful." Connor replied with all the responsibility of a five year old being handed a pair of scissors, and told not to run with them. 

Connor clipped the lead onto Sumo's collar and tugged the dog towards the door. As they stepped out into the chilly evening, Connor looked left and right, realising he didn't know where Sumo liked to be walked. He quickly set out a reasonable four mile route around three local parks that should both keep the dog active and give him enough time to process everything that was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this - wow holy shit what are you doing here?! It's been like 3/4 months! I'm terribly irresponsible! 
> 
> *Dramatic flashback to June when I said that I would try and post at least once a week* 
> 
> Well... yeah. 
> 
> I'm going to level with you guys, I don't know that I'll continue with this fic. Although I'm looking to get back into writing after a very extended break, I have a habit of not coming back to fics when I take a break from them. I'm not saying for certain that I'll never write more, but I don't want you guys to be waiting around for it to finish. I'm sorry I couldn't knuckle down and get it done for you all, but I at least wanted to let you all know where we're at. 
> 
> I might post a couple of one-shots, small scraps or whatever that help end this story, because there's nothing worse than a story untold. Or find a way to condense it super small so y'all get an ending. Let me know if you have a preference... I could even bullet point the plot if you want! [though i suspect that would be utterly tasteless and would kind of ruin the immersion].
> 
> But, yeah, that's it really. I know a lot of you have been concerned about my health because I kind of told you all I was facing some big health issues then vanished for three months. So... sorry for that. I'm still recovering, but doing so, so, so much better than I was. I'm a completely different person to how I was then, I'm much stronger both physically and mentally, and although I've still got a lot of hard work ahead of me I have a much more positive outlook on everything. 
> 
> The reason I'm posting this is because I'm still getting comments on this fic and I just wanted to let you guys know what's up. This chapter is what I had left that I wrote three months ago and just didn't post (mostly because it's not a full chapter). I know it's probably a little unsatisfying, but I wanted to give all you lovely people everything I had on this fic as a thank you for all the love and support you've given me. Seriously, I know I've said it before but y'all gave me so much hope in a time when I really needed it, and just knowing that there were people out there, all over the world, that were reading what I wrote and genuinely enjoying it... well, there was a sense of solidarity there, and it gave me a reason to keep pushing to get better. You're all incredible. 
> 
> Anywho, enough of the mushy crap. Let me know what you want for this story in the comments (but please remember that seeing it through to the finish might not be possible for me, as sucky as it is)! 
> 
> I love you all, you're amazing. Go out there and do something incredible today. Kindness costs nothing. And, as always, I hope you're having the loveliest of days!! 
> 
> Much love,  
> Avery

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, any kudos/comments appreciated! Let me know what you think.


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